Being homeless is a way of life for the Tattercoats but it’s horribly new to Otto. The Tattercoats have an impressive family code of taking care of each other, and they take Otto in when he’s at his lowest. Becoming the friends he needs, they teach him to survive. As Otto faces challenges, he has a steep learning curve. Forced to decide where his ethics start and stop, he also learns a lot about family, industry, and watching out for each other. The book is somewhat of an introduction to horror for kids and things go wrong for the main character at every step of the way.
The author did an impressive job painting a realistic world. In the theater of my mind I could see the land these kids strive to survive in, feel the cold that constantly engulfs them, and feel the anxiety as they try to outsmart the bad guys on many occasions. The characters are engaging and charismatic. With magical creatures, trolls, and talking animals, this book is quirky yet whimsical. From cover to cover, the story kept my attention. It’s captivating and easy to keep wanting more just to find out what happens to Otto and does he ever find his beloved mother? Often intense and emotionally difficult, it can be a bit of a nail biter. If you’re a fan of Grimm’s Fairy Tales, not the Hollywood versions but the original ones, this might be the book for you. With many twists and turns throughout the story, it’s truly the characters that make this story hard to put down.
This is Matilda Woods’ fourth book. She often writes with an imaginative combination of real life and a touch of fairy tale essence.
Review of an Advance Reading Copy
This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Philomel
Content Analysis:
Profanity/Language: None
Violence/Gore: Implied some small animals froze to death and died; a man and a woman are found frozen to death with a small child between them who is still alive; mention that a father died previously; a woman disappears later found to be kidnapped and held by magic; a young boy is forced to live on the street and his jacket is stolen; people spray water on children to make them go away (in a winter atmosphere); a girl is dragged away and forced into a basement, no physical or sexual harm committed; several young children are held prisoner and forced to work, sparse food and living conditions; mention of a girl’s mother and father having frozen to death; a child is taken to a place as punishment where rats might eat him; a woman wants to abduct more children and make them work for her; three people die from the cold; 2 older teen boys try to abbuct a girl but she fights them off with help from a friend; 2 older teen boys adbuct 2 other kids and take them to work for their mother; a boy describes in detail what it was like when his best friend froze to death, somewhat descriptive; a woman threatens to turn 2 kids into animals and to eat them; a woman confines 2 kids in a cage; 8 men were previously turned into wolves, one was chopped up with an axe and eaten, mild description but not bloody; a man tells a story of a giant who was stabbed to death, not descriptive; a man captures things and people by magic; a dragon-napping by magic, it’s kept in a basement for years; 2 kids capture an evil woman and her 2 sons by magic and keep them hostage.
Sex/Nudity: None
Mature Subject Matter:
Death of parents (multiple times), socioeconomic disparities, hungry kids living on the streets, children & adults freeze to death, adults turn a blind eye to homeless children, homelessness, kidnapping, animal-napping, children held captive and forced to work, parents gave away children because of economic hardship, abduction, robbery & thieving.
Alcohol / Drug Use:
None
