The Aviary

by Kathleen O'Dell

In late nineteenth-century Maine, isolated, eleven-year-old Clara Dooley gains a friend and uncovers a magical secret that changes her life when she learns to care for the once-feared birds in the aviary attached to the Glendoveer mansion where she lives.

• ISBN10: 0375856056
• ISBN13: 9780375856051
• Publish Date: 13 September 2011 (first published 1 September 2011)
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 339
• Language: English

Reviews

[inlibrisveritas]

The Aviary is a mystery novel with a very interesting and original twist. We are introduced to the main character, Clara, who is a willful young girl with the urge to find something more then her sheltered life in the Glendoveer mansion. However when the elderly mistress of the house chooses to show Clara a picture of her son Elliot things begin to change in the young girl’s world. Suddenly everything in the house becomes a part of a story that she feels compelled to know, especially the suddenly talkative birds that are caged in the large aviary.She meets another young girl named Daphne and quickly enlists her help in solving the Glendoveer mystery.

I found Clara and Daphne to be a very likable and sweet young girls, who have that surprisingly tough and determined side that can be found in all girls their age. Their personalities are a compliment to the others’ and it was fun to read their conversations, it’s filled with that youthful acceptance and love that really warms your heart. Harriet and Ruby were also lovely characters and played their roles well. Harriet the sensible but overprotective mother and Ruby the open-minded and flighty family friend.

The story surround the Glendoveers’ and the birds is a very intriguing one that wasn’t expecting at all. I caught on pretty quickly after a few clues were uncovered but it by no means diminished my want to know exactly what happened. The book’s info page states that this is intended for 8-12 year olds and while I personally wouldn’t give this a child under 10 I’m pretty sure that the intrigue and mystery will be even stronger for them. I also really loved the part the birds play in helping Clara figure out what exactly had happened to Glendoveer family, but I also found them to be a sad aspect of the story. To be completely honest this book reminds of The Secret Garden, the main character is far more agreeable but the writing has that same feel to it and the setting is similar. It was however a bit darker then I expected from a middle grade book, it’s by no means a Gothic novel but it does deal with a very sad story centered around the Glendoveer children and even malicious intent on the part of the ‘bad’ guy.

The writing is wonderful and gives you just the right tone to make you ‘feel’ what Clara feels, and despite some more the more sad aspects it still holds that innocent and light tone that children are so famous for. There were a few punctuation mistakes throughout but they were rare and only truly succeeded in tripping me up once during one of the more lengthy conversations. Overall I really enjoyed this book and if I had a child of about 10 I would certainly consider letting them read this (depending on their mindset of course), but I’d also recommend this to those who enjoy mysteries with a sort of whimsical twist. Oh and as a side note, I love the cover art for this book.

I received this ARC in a giveaway listed on the blog Bibliopunkk