Claire Legrand sets her terrific debut in a society where being a bit odd can land you in an orphanage with missing children.
Twelve-year-old Victoria Wright's only friend is Lawrence Prewitt. Lawrence's hair began going gray when he was nine, making him look like a skunk; he cannot tuck his shirt in properly; and he loves playing his "wretched piano," which Victoria thinks is a waste of time. She takes on Lawrence as "her personal project" and a gift to the Belleville community--until he goes missing. Strange things begin happening in Belleville, including an infestation of indeterminable black bugs and the disappearance of a class clown and her rival's twin. Some people forget about them completely, while others behave as if nothing's happening. With the help of a brave neighbor, Victoria tracks the disappearances to the Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls. She must hurry to rescue them, however, because in Cavendish, nobody stays past their 13th birthday, and Lawrence's is just two weeks away.
Miss Cavendish is a villain reminiscent of Miss Trunchbull from Matilda, with her sense of duty to improve unruly children and her mechanisms for punishing them. Legrand's third-person narrative adopts a proper, know-it-all attitude for Victoria's story, which makes for a hilarious read-aloud. Watching the heroine grow throughout the novel may well inspire readers to accept others, despite their oddities; it's a theme sounded in an entertaining fashion. Readers will anticipate Claire Legrand's next flight of fancy. --Adam Silvera, reviewer and former bookseller