Margaret and the Moth Tree

Gr 3–6—A charming story of magical realism. Margaret lives in an orphanage run by cruel, imperious Miss Switch. When the other orphans are barred from speaking to her, she finds escape with a group of moths whose voices only she can hear. Both Miss Switch's excessive abuses against the children (forbidding a boy from sleeping, making a girl stand on a building ledge) and Margaret's use of magic (the moths) to retaliate evoke the events in Roald Dahl's Matilda (Viking, 1988). Well-sketched characters and short chapters that often end on ambiguous notes will engage readers. While period and setting are left vague, the narrator's elegant asides and wry commentary imbue the novel with an old-fashioned air reminiscent of Lemony Snicket's "A Series of Unfortunate Events" (HarperCollins). Though the moths are positively filled to the brim with quirky traits (Rimblewisp and Pipperflit play games like Billabump and feast upon dreams that they call Nimblers), their scenes tend to drag, especially compared with the action at the orphanage. The power of physical beauty is a strong motif throughout; for example, the beautiful but evil Miss Switch divides the residents into two groups—the pretty, favored Pets and the unattractive Dregs, who are given the lion's share of the work. However, this theme is instilled with enough nuance to escape cliché. The Trogens breathe new life into the old trope of the plucky orphan in dire straits.—Mahnaz Dar, formerly at Convent of the Sacred Heart, New York City