Review

The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls

Common Sense Media says

Deeply creepy, thought-provoking tale of weird school.
Age
10
Quality
 
  • Educational value2
    Readers will learn about Lawrence's favorite classical music, especially a Rachmaninoff concerto, which turns out to be essential to Victoria's rescue efforts.
  • Positive messages4
    Amid the scary stuff are quite a few positive lessons: friendship, courage, teamwork, and why it's important to be yourself even if you're not perfect.
  • Positive role models4
    Victoria is brave, determined, and loyal to Lawrence, who in turn puts up with a lot of grief from her as she tries to improve him. When it counts, they're there for each other. There are also a few brave souls who stand up against the evil Mrs. Cavendish and are never seen again, as well as a cranky neighbor who's one of the rare people who haven't fallen under her spell.
  • Violence4
    This is a horror story, in which Victoria, Lawrence, and others are in constant fear of torture and death -- fear that's well justified by the "punishments" meted out to students (beatings, torture), a scene in which a horde of bugs carries off a screaming adult to an unknown but clearly horrible fate, and the complete disappearance of others.
  • Sex0
    Not applicable.
  • Language0
    Not applicable.
  • Consumerism0
    Not applicable.
  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking0
    Various foods, brews, and potions around the Home seem to have strange, sinister effects, including mindless compliance and indifference to others' suffering.
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What parents need to know

Parents need to know that The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls is funny, compelling, and seriously, deeply creepy. There's a spooky boarding school where, besides teachers who beat and torture the imprisoned students, there are strange creatures, peculiar food, and sinister goings-on. To say nothing of lots and lots of malevolent bugs. But kids who like scary books will go for this tale and its snarky 12-year-old heroine, Victoria, whose self-image as Ms. Perfect evolves over the course of her efforts to save her friend from the school.

This review of The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls was written by

Most useful reviews by all members

Educator and Parent
September 16, 2012
10
OK for kids & up
 
Cavendish Home: Nice to visit, but you wouldn't want to live there! :-)
Cavendish is appealing to my middle school students because its genre isn't often directed at them: horror. Students love the shock value for what it is; they are certain this is fiction and not a real threat to anyone outside of the book. The excellent imagery and sentence strructure is a gift to young readers.
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Helped me decide (16) | Had useful details (11) | Read my mind (10)
Parent
May 15, 2013
11
Not for kids & under
 
Don't bother
Just a creepy book, I kept expecting it to get better, but the weirdness and horror factor is not appropriate for the age range its targeted at. There are these weird servant creatures that you find out are other children and the kids in the home eat out their eyeballs. Why? Its just gross.
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