Reviewed by Allison Fraclose for TeensReadToo.com
Ten-year-old orphan Isabelle has never seen the sun.
Like nearly everyone else who lives in Runny Cove, where the rainfall never stops, she has to work at Runny Cove's Magnificently Supreme Umbrella Factory, the only business in town. Ever since Grandma Maxine fell sick, Isabelle has had to work double shifts to pay their rent at Mama Lu's boarding house, where residents are given two meager meals a day in exchange for leaky rooms and strict rules.
Through it all, Isabelle finds scraps of happiness in Grandma Maxine's tales of when Runny Cove saw sunlight and prosperous times, and in the knowledge that she, as the only orphan in Runny Cove to have been left on a doorstep, may indeed turn out to be special and different.
While on the beach one day after work, Isabelle is approached by a monster that crawls out of the sea, and leaves her with an item that only the richest in Runny Cove could afford--a single, red apple. Such an extraordinary experience in the dull life of a factory worker could only mean that Isabelle is special after all, and she finds out that this is true ten times over when she's told that the apple marks her as the heir to a magical farm.
Isabelle sets off to begin her new, exciting life, but soon finds her loyalties put to the test when she's given a chance to use her new fortune to save her friends and the home that she once knew.
This little book absolutely impressed me with its well-written story and deceivingly simple text that stirs up a wealth of emotion in spite of oneself. Reminiscent of novels by storytelling master Roald Dahl, this book draws young readers through steely gray sadness only to come out in a wash of color and happiness at the story's conclusion.
Ten-year-old orphan Isabelle has never seen the sun.
Like nearly everyone else who lives in Runny Cove, where the rainfall never stops, she has to work at Runny Cove's Magnificently Supreme Umbrella Factory, the only business in town. Ever since Grandma Maxine fell sick, Isabelle has had to work double shifts to pay their rent at Mama Lu's boarding house, where residents are given two meager meals a day in exchange for leaky rooms and strict rules.
Through it all, Isabelle finds scraps of happiness in Grandma Maxine's tales of when Runny Cove saw sunlight and prosperous times, and in the knowledge that she, as the only orphan in Runny Cove to have been left on a doorstep, may indeed turn out to be special and different.
While on the beach one day after work, Isabelle is approached by a monster that crawls out of the sea, and leaves her with an item that only the richest in Runny Cove could afford--a single, red apple. Such an extraordinary experience in the dull life of a factory worker could only mean that Isabelle is special after all, and she finds out that this is true ten times over when she's told that the apple marks her as the heir to a magical farm.
Isabelle sets off to begin her new, exciting life, but soon finds her loyalties put to the test when she's given a chance to use her new fortune to save her friends and the home that she once knew.
This little book absolutely impressed me with its well-written story and deceivingly simple text that stirs up a wealth of emotion in spite of oneself. Reminiscent of novels by storytelling master Roald Dahl, this book draws young readers through steely gray sadness only to come out in a wash of color and happiness at the story's conclusion.
