Splendors and Glooms Paperback – January 7, 2014

There's some very good reviews for this book already and I feel they have touched on some of the major points in this book. As period literature it is brilliant - and I believe it presents a very well developed glimpse into the time period (and it is a glimpse - the story is not sacrificed to be historically educational), but unlike other period literature you do have the element of magic. This is not magic like other children's books that come to mind. This is *not* like Harry Potter - no eyes of newt, no wand waving or broom flying; this is magic that, if it did exist, perhaps it would really be like this without the frills and flourish -- more like in Ursula K LeGuin's Earthsea Trilogy (the first volume of which I was given in 7th grade to read for English class)... something that seems more natural despite the fact that it's a supernatural element. (I might mention that a lot of my friends and co-workers think we need to stay away from magic because they feel it will cloud their children's sense of truth and religion -- but I was raised on fairy tales and while I imagined them real I still always knew the difference, and I see that with the children I work with as well.)For me, choosing books for children generally requires that the writing be worthy of emulation. I sometimes make exceptions for the content (I don't want my children writing like Gary Paulsen but I think that the books we have used of his make up for that in content and the discussions we were able to have around it). So, on that criteria, I need only say it's beautifully written.The next issue is age appropriateness. This is such a gray area, especially in our society and with the things children are exposed to all the time. One of the reviewers was not sure who she could recommend the book to because of the man accosting Lizzie Rose and trying to kiss her and with the drunkenness. I find this very real to the world children still grow up in. Children are sometimes inappropriately accosted and we make much of their right to say no, and in this book Lizzie Rose, who is trying to say no but lacks the physical strength, is saved by the fact that an adult finds out (walks in on) and intervenes and he is very angry about it. I think it is good for children to realize they can't always handle things themselves and, when they can't, there are safe adults who will stand by them. I think the message that some people mix poorly with alcohol and become unsafe is a reasonable one. (The children's classic "Heidi," when translated into English, left out a scene in which Clara's father and the butler, while up waiting for the "ghost," have too much to drink. In that case it was a sillier scene but the point is that our view on being scared to present the fact that people do drink and sometimes have too much and that that has consequences is a cultural one -- and perhaps we do ourselves a disservice.) There is real evil in this book, and I won't try and tell you otherwise, but there are also very good people who will make all the difference. In terms of appropriateness, I find more problems with "middle school" children's books where boys are imagining girls naked or imagining being able to touch her breasts or where a boy and a girl are swimming in their underwear and we are introducing all of the feelings of one or both despite the fact that not all children are there yet and don't need to be rushed into that sort of sexual imagination. (Again, this is something children are bombarded with everywhere but I live and work within a circle where the parents try to stay away from modern media with their children and allow them time to be children before they are worried about whether or not they are "going out" with someone.) There is nothing erotic or enticing about Lizzie Rose being accosted (the man is trying to kiss her - so it's blatant without being too detailed for the age group; compared to "Memory Boy" - a book about life following a natural disaster - where a man who has taken possession of the family's summer house is trying to rub the leg of the same age group girl under the dining table, and later the men who follow the family from the town who the brother overhears saying " She's old ENOUGH!" where the children were naturally wanting to ask more questions about where this was all leading -- in this book, the kiss is portrayed as disgusting and the children found it sufficient explanation of what was going on and didn't need to discuss where it was leading even if the more worldly of them probably knew), and while the argument can be made it's not age appropriate, I think most children are well aware that there is good and bad in the world, and while I'd like to shield them from all the darkness I don't think I can. Even in my circles, children have been taught that there is good touch and bad touch and that sometimes there are people who try to violate that space. What I can do is encourage them that goodness can win, that right can triumph, while admitting that it isn't always easy. I can encourage them to know that, just like Lizzie Rose, a bad thing happening to you does not have to define who you are. I can also tell them that just because you occasionally have thoughts that feel selfish, especially when you are worried or afraid, it doesn't make you a bad person - that isn't what defines someone as evil. This is backed up by the book: Lizzie Rose worries that wanting the legacy from the rich old lady and worries about if a will gets written before she dies instead of worrying about her dying makes her bad. Yet when the witch uses her stone to look within Lizzie Rose she pronounces her good, and we see that truth repeated in Lizzie Rose's actions.I confess there were a few scenes where I wondered if the dark moments of the book would lead to nightmares for some of the children (the fact that Clara is somehow turned into a puppet and kidnapped), but all I have heard so far has been positive - the children identifying with the children standing strong against the odds. I was worried that the boy being, when needed, a thief might be glorifying his skill, but all the discussion I have heard from the children has been sympathetic to him, while still stating that it is wrong. I have heard some wonder aloud what they would do as an orphaned child in that time period or a place in the world where there was less available to help a child in trouble or alone. To me, the discussions and the thinking I see from the children have been what made this book a success.

Set in 1860s Victorian era London, we first meet a little girl named Clara who is celebrating her sixth birthday and is very excited that master puppeteer Grisini is performing for her. She is so entranced by it, she wants to do a special favor for him and his two preteen adolescents Lizzie Rose and Parsefall but it will unexpectedly create a frightening chain of events that will affect her and them.“SAG” to me is a dark fantasy that pulls a lot of devious strings on its characters that make it very gripping. One thing is that is doesn’t focus on just Clara but also the puppeteer, his assistants and a witch who is connected to their story. It definitely does get grim, frightening and even humorously black. Their story manages to be one that’s riveting and thrilling that will pull you with its strings. <b>A- (91%/Excellent)</b>

First off, if you aren't sure about this book, search again for "Splendors and Glooms" in the Kindle Store. Notice that there is a separately listed free download of the book's first three chapters, which is a much longer sample than that offered on this page. (Update: At least as of February 17, 2013 I don't see that three chapter freebie anymore. That's O.K.; the "Click to Look Inside" option will still give you a generous sample.)Now, look at the blurbs. I'm never very impressed by blurbs, but I have to admit that if Rebecca Stead, Gregory Maguire and Adam Gidwitz are all on board, then I'm intrigued.Now further, try to forget all of the descriptions of this book as "Dickensian". Most of the time that means the author is leaning heavily on worn out orphan cliches, excessively quirky characters with cutesy names, ridiculous coincidences, fog, and horse drawn carriages.This book doesn't need that kind of crutch. It is written with elegance and yet restraint. It is atmospheric, but not hobbled by obscure or over-researched historical footnotes. It has magical elements, but is not a fantasy or a wand-waver.And it has really wonderfully realized characters, each an individual and engaging personality. The villains are villainous to just the right degree. Our heroes are worthy. Secondary characters add depth and support.Actually, it seems that Laura Schlitz does something that her blurbers, especially Rebecca Stead, do; she adds the telling detail, or the sharp little observation, or the simple descriptive touch, just where it does the most good. Nothing here is overheated or purple. Nothing drifts into tedium. Everything here serves a narrative purpose, and then withdraws, (like one of those lightly sketched Victorian servants).That may or may not be your cup of tea, but it seems that in a book aimed at a sophisticated middle or YA reader, that clarity and restraint is an attractive quality that helps to keep the reader engaged and rewarded. And while there is a lot of fun and excitement and just plain entertainment out there on the bookshelves, it's very nice to have another work available that, for want of a better term, might be considered "literary" middle grade and YA.

On vacation, and don't have this book to hand. For now, I'd like to tell you that Laura Amy Schlitz is one of the best contemporary writers I know. How I wish she would write more books! She transcends target group categories. Read her books to younger children, put them in the hands of young girls, give them to your bookish friends. I've read The Night Fairy, Spendours and Glooms, The Hired Girl and A Drowned Maiden's Hair. She clearly researches her backgrounds meticulously, as one might expect of a librarian. She's not a one theme writer. Each book evokes reflection on very different topics. Hoffman and the European Kunstmaerchen rise up before you in Splendours and Glooms, with the atmosphere of sinister magic surrounding dolls, robotic and created beings. The entire existing literature of fairies and everything that implies in terms of magical femininity, nature spirits and reflections on the dubious fairy sweetness proposed to little girls is evoked in The Night Fairy. A Drowned Maiden's Hair returns us to the 19th century passion for seances and spirits, shared by many irreproachably serious people who in that era of magical scientific progress & at the dawn of psychology and speculation on the unconscious can be forgiven for wondering if contact with spirit dimensions might indeed be a credible possibility. A Hired Girl confronts us with times of premature adulthood and the harshness of the patriarchal family home, which not only in recent times has been viewed as the most dangerous place in the world for women. Each book is a page turner that drawns you immediately into the deftly described world of the protagonist. Schlitz's language surprises and seduces. Last but not least, these are books that do not only entertain. Their harshness may shock for a moment, here and there. But their strong girl characters convince and win through. I was in tears at the sensitivity of her portrayal of girls alone (and fairies), making their way in their harsh worlds. She cuts through all sweet cliches of girlishness - but rewards us with authenticity and messages of realistic hope.