Amazon.com Review
Twelve year old Margaret Rose Kane is incorrigible. Not only does she refuse to bend to the will of her manipulative cabin mates at Camp Talequa, she stands up to and inadvertently insults the camp director and Queen-in-residence, Mrs. Kaplan. The intimidating and cruel confrontations that threaten to break Margaret's spririt only serve to strengthen her resolve, and everyone is happy when Margaret is finally banished/rescued from Camp Talequa. Luckily for her, with her parents in Peru, this means she can spend the rest of the summer with her delightfully eccentric Hungarian great-uncles, Alexander and Morris Rose. Margaret adores her great-uncles, and loves the house at 19 Schuyler Place--especially the three peculiar clock towers (tall painted structures covered in pendants made from broken china, crystal, bottles, jars, and clock parts) that the Rose brothers have been building for as long as she can remember. For Margaret and the Rose brothers, the towers represent beauty for beauty's sake--they sparkle in the sun and sing in the wind--they exist only to spread joy. Not everyone loves the towers however, and forty-five years after the birth of the project, the city council declares the towers "unsafe," and demands that they be dismantled and destroyed. Filled with the same fiery resolve that helped her survive Camp Talequa, Margaret (with the help of a handyman named Jake, a loyal dog named Tartufo, and few other unexpected allies) launches a plan to save the towers in the name of art, history, and beauty.
A companion novel to the award-winning author's acclaimed Silent to the Bone, Outcasts is strikingly unique, incredibly interesting, and, with references to "Bartleby the Scrivener", and the rose windows of Notre Dame, exceptionally literary. In other words, The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place is vintage Konigsburg. This quirky masterpiece will be enjoyed by young fans of Konigsburg’s other erudite works, and Polly Horvath’s The Canning Season.. (Ages 10 and older)
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
From School Library Journal
Grade 6-9–E. L. Konigsburg has created another spunky young heroine in
The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place (Atheneum, 2004.) Twelve-year-old Margaret Rose Kane declares her independence when she politely, but firmly, refuses to "fit in" at summer camp. Fortunately, her great uncles Alex and Morris are happy to bring her to their home on Schuyler Place where she quickly learns about a dispute between the elderly men and a neighborhood group. The controversy centers on the uncle's colorful backyard towers that the neighbors believe lower their property values. The two men have carefully built these structures over four decades, but now they are set for demolition. Undaunted by the looming deadline, the determined girl enlists the help of family friends and the camp director's son. While the adults work to preserve the towers, Margaret stops the wrecking crew by taking a brave stand, and by getting unexpected help from her former camp tormentors. The story offers an insightful look at issues such as urban renewal and the realities of local politics. Actress Molly Ringwald cleverly employs a vaguely-Hungarian accent and lots of humor to bring the novel's memorable characters to life. Though the rose illustration on the cover may not draw listeners, the good sound quality, solid packaging, and useful information on the case will make it easy to circulate. Konigsburg's fans will delight as her latest youthful adventurer outwits the system and reaffirms the power of mutually-supportive loved ones. There's sure to be a worthwhile place on the shelves of public and middle school libraries for this audiobook.–
Barbara Wysocki, Cora J. Belden Library, Rocky Hill, CT Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
