The Sisters of Straygarden Place by Hayley Chewins

Rating: 4/5

It took me a little while to figure out that I actually enjoyed this book. I started reading it and was instantly put off by the immense number of similes. There were so many similes. I started wondering if Chewins had any idea that you could describe things without them.

However, almost against my will (seriously, I was very irritated by the similes), I started really enjoying the story. There’s a mystical quality to the story that’s very charming, and the whole atmosphere is uniquely surreal. In addition, the plot is interesting, with a decent twist, though the magic/fantasy part mainly relies on “let’s sound mystical and maybe no one will notice that nothing really makes sense.” Basically, there’s a magical house surrounded by magical silver grass that can speak to the characters, a talking silver cart hippo librarian, dogs that can leap into your mind and some other strange things that are meant to convey more of a mystical nature then make sense as a magic system (also, I blame Brandon Sanderson for making me obsess over magic that makes sense). Mystery and mysticalness have their place in fantasy, of course, and I’m not saying the book needs any sort of explanation—in fact, I think it was that mystery quality that ended up drawing me into the book.

The message is perhaps too pat and cut-and-dry, and slightly unbelievable in the quickness of the resolution. However, it’s a very heartwarming message of love and forgiveness, and Mayhap’s journey is tragic but kind of beautiful along the way. The less said about the Mysteriessa the better, but at least there was an acknowledgement at the end that children are children and should be given second (and third) chances, as they still have lots of time to learn and grow.

The writing took me a while to ignore, but the quality of the story ended up doing the trick—a mystical, fantastical story about love and family.

Info: Hayley Chewins; published 2020 by Candlewick

Genre: Middle Grade, Fantasy

Warnings: None

Recommended Age Range: 10+