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INTERMEDIATE FICTION
Choldenko, Gennifer

Orphan Eleven

307 pp. | Random/Lamb | May, 2020 | Trade ISBN 978-0-385-74255-9 $16.99 | Library ISBN 978-0-375-99064-9 $19.99 | Ebook ISBN 978-0-307-97578-2
(2) 4-6 Orphanhood and running away to the circus--both narratives have their conventions, and in this novel set in 1939 starring eleven-year-old Lucy, Choldenko makes the most of them. The Iowa orphanage where Lucy, who is selectively mute, is kept is gothically bleak, gray, and cold, presided over by a cruel matron. The circus Lucy escapes to along with three other orphans is vibrant and full of rough kindness and iconic circus characters: the knife thrower, the strong woman, the roustabout, and elephants. The escape drama involves cunning, courage, negotiation, and close brushes with danger of all sorts. The interpersonal story involves the occasional benevolent adult, some two-timing rogues, the loyal among the circus family, and disputes among the four escapees. Tension and hope are maintained with the parallel story, told in letters, of Lucy's older sister's attempts to locate her. A historically based element of the plot introduces a mystery that ties in to Lucy's inability to speak, involving an actual experiment performed on orphans in the 1930s in which verbally fluent children were treated to derision and criticism to see if stuttering could be induced. Underlying it all is a straightforward but compelling story arc: Lucy needs to find a voice and a family, and readers will root for her to regain both. An author's note provides detail on the use of historical source material; a glossary of circus terms is also appended.
Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2020

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