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A review by afi_whatafireads
The Ogress and the Orphans by Kelly Barnhill
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
<b> Personal Ratings : 4🌟 </b>
This book is a middle grade book that is filled with satire. The prose seemed simple, as it talks about The Ogress and the Orphans and the story of a town that was filled with happiness before but after the fire of the library, the town became scarce, the people mean and every part of the town is filled with hatred, especially lead with a mayor that is two-faced and seemed to provide for the town but has not been doing so.
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<b> Personal Thoughts </b>
Let's start by saying, I came in with a middle grade mindset, but the underlying message of the book seemed very adult, which makes it a bit disorienting to read at first. I have a habit of trying to adjust my mindset according to the genres that I pick, and reading this book at first felt long and draggy; to a point that I almost gave up reading the book. The story went on and on about other people and the plot on Ogress and Orphans felt too little at first.
But then, I found an interview from the author that changed my mindset,
<i><blockquote>Trump has really given children’s authors everywhere a great service, because all those years our editors were like, Oh, this villain is too cartoonish. Or Isn’t this a bit on the nose? I feel like everything since 2016 has been a little on the nose, you know what I mean? But looking back on it, it turns out there’s all kinds of scurrilous individuals who also said that they alone could fix it. And maybe we should learn from that.</blockquote><i>
The author had written the book during the year Trump was elected and turns out that the Mayor is somewhat a satire during his era, and after that, I changed my mindset when reading this book, and it became super enjoyable towards the second half.
I liked the idea of a town or nation is crushed with the absence of a library and a place where books are missing, that leads to the town's inherent tragedy. The library fire had created a series of unfortunate events that made the town worst than it already is. The author had shown how important the institution of learning and minds collected to be present in a community. When a library or a place where access of information and education became scarce. it provides a domino effect on the whole town that leads to poverty rising, crime rates increasing and people suffering.
The book also shown how minorities were treated in a town that is close-knit. The orphans had been living in a house with the matron couple and they had survived with only their means. With famine and hunger rising in the town, the Ogress that was kind and strong, which represents the minority in a community that had actually helped to build the town again. I actually teared up on how naive and innocent The Ogress is and how she was always misunderstood by the people of the town. It brings to the question of Prejudice in our society and how we judge people based on their looks and impressions that we have of them. It reflects our community as a whole on how we are always so keen and fast to judge others before letting them have their own say in things. Its closely related to the real world which makes me super sad while reading The Ogress POV.
The author honestly did a great job in portraying various emotions of abandoned children, on independency, and on how a community is fallen with a leader that is two-faced and evil behind the "heroic" mask. It shows that it is important to choose our leaders not because of the name and fame that he carries without any proof; its compassion and honesty that makes a good leader, or our lives will be in much dire and desperation.
An engaging read that leaves so much room to discuss. Eventho its a middle grade book, it will be a great book to be discussed in Book Clubs.
Thank you so much to Times Reads for this copy!
This book is a middle grade book that is filled with satire. The prose seemed simple, as it talks about The Ogress and the Orphans and the story of a town that was filled with happiness before but after the fire of the library, the town became scarce, the people mean and every part of the town is filled with hatred, especially lead with a mayor that is two-faced and seemed to provide for the town but has not been doing so.
----
<b> Personal Thoughts </b>
Let's start by saying, I came in with a middle grade mindset, but the underlying message of the book seemed very adult, which makes it a bit disorienting to read at first. I have a habit of trying to adjust my mindset according to the genres that I pick, and reading this book at first felt long and draggy; to a point that I almost gave up reading the book. The story went on and on about other people and the plot on Ogress and Orphans felt too little at first.
But then, I found an interview from the author that changed my mindset,
<i><blockquote>Trump has really given children’s authors everywhere a great service, because all those years our editors were like, Oh, this villain is too cartoonish. Or Isn’t this a bit on the nose? I feel like everything since 2016 has been a little on the nose, you know what I mean? But looking back on it, it turns out there’s all kinds of scurrilous individuals who also said that they alone could fix it. And maybe we should learn from that.</blockquote><i>
The author had written the book during the year Trump was elected and turns out that the Mayor is somewhat a satire during his era, and after that, I changed my mindset when reading this book, and it became super enjoyable towards the second half.
I liked the idea of a town or nation is crushed with the absence of a library and a place where books are missing, that leads to the town's inherent tragedy. The library fire had created a series of unfortunate events that made the town worst than it already is. The author had shown how important the institution of learning and minds collected to be present in a community. When a library or a place where access of information and education became scarce. it provides a domino effect on the whole town that leads to poverty rising, crime rates increasing and people suffering.
The book also shown how minorities were treated in a town that is close-knit. The orphans had been living in a house with the matron couple and they had survived with only their means. With famine and hunger rising in the town, the Ogress that was kind and strong, which represents the minority in a community that had actually helped to build the town again. I actually teared up on how naive and innocent The Ogress is and how she was always misunderstood by the people of the town. It brings to the question of Prejudice in our society and how we judge people based on their looks and impressions that we have of them. It reflects our community as a whole on how we are always so keen and fast to judge others before letting them have their own say in things. Its closely related to the real world which makes me super sad while reading The Ogress POV.
The author honestly did a great job in portraying various emotions of abandoned children, on independency, and on how a community is fallen with a leader that is two-faced and evil behind the "heroic" mask. It shows that it is important to choose our leaders not because of the name and fame that he carries without any proof; its compassion and honesty that makes a good leader, or our lives will be in much dire and desperation.
An engaging read that leaves so much room to discuss. Eventho its a middle grade book, it will be a great book to be discussed in Book Clubs.
Thank you so much to Times Reads for this copy!