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The Aviary (2011)

by Kathleen O'Dell(Favorite Author)

3.73 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

0375856056 (ISBN13: 9780375856051)

languge

English

genre

Historical Fiction

publisher

Knopf Books for Young Readers

review 1: Loved this story-all the way until the last few chapters. It seemed like the ending was rushed."Twelve-year-old Clara Dooley has spent her whole life in the Glendoveer mansion, where her mother is a servant to the kind and elderly matron of the house. Clara has never known another home. In fact, she's confined to the grand estate due to a mysterious heart condition. But it's a comfortable life, and if it weren't for the creepy squawking birds in the aviary out back, a completely peaceful one too. But once old Mrs. Glendoveer passes away, Clara comes to learn many dark secrets about the family. The Glendoveers suffered a horrific tragedy: their children were kidnapped, then drowned. And their father George Glendoveer, a famous magician and illusionist, stood accused until ... morehis death. As Clara digs deeper and deeper into the terrifying events, the five birds in the aviary seem to be trying to tell her something. And Clara comes to wonder: what is their true identity? Clara sets out to solve a decades-old murder mystery—and in doing so, unlocks a secret in her own life, too."
review 2: This book made me so angry first for purportedly being comparable to "The Night Circus," which it is decidedly not, and second for the writing and dialog. The main character and her friend are 12 years old but speak as if they are 42 years old. Even taking into consideration that the little girl is raised in isolation with no one of her age to socialize with, I couldn't believe it. The story could have been interesting but I was so aggravated by the writing and certain aspects of the plot that I almost gave up reading it and only finished because I had spent money on the book. Arg. less

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