The Ogress and the Orphans: A Book Review

Heavens, this book was quite preachy. I’m not quite sure what to make of it, but I didn’t enjoy having life lessons shoved in my face while trying to enjoy characters and story. Because this story was told from the perspective of an omniscient narrator, there's many sentences and paragraphs purely devoted to talking about kindness and judging and all sorts of feel-good life lessons. It very much distracted from the story and the characters, making them seem less important. If I wanted to read a self-help book about being a good neighbor, I wouldn't pick up a middle grade fantasy. I'm just confused how any child or teenager would find this book entertaining enough to keep reading. 

All that being said, does this book carry an important message? Of course. Is the story itself interesting and heart warming? Yes. So it does have some merit. And I'm sure there's plenty of people out there who appreciate the preachiness and moralizing nature of the story. I'm definitely not one of those people (I prefer my books' themes to be represented in the characters, not shoved at me in random sentences and paragraphs by a self-righteous narrator). Anyways, this obviously wasn't the book for me, which is a shame because I adored The Girl Who Drank the Moon. 

Writing Aesthetic/Style: 1
Plot/Movement: 3
Character Development: 3
Overall: 3

Thank you, Algonquin Young Readers, for the ARC!

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