Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls

by Claire Legrand (Goodreads Author), Sarah Watts (Illustrator)

3.92 of 5 stars 3.92 · rating details · 791 ratings · 267 reviews

At the Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls, you will definitely learn your lesson. A dark, timeless, and heartfelt novel for fans of Coraline and The Mysterious Benedict Society.

Victoria hates nonsense. There is no need for it when your life is perfect. The only smudge on her pristine life is her best friend Lawrence. He is a disaster—lazy and dreamy, shirt always untucked,...more

Hardcover, 343 pages

Published August 28th 2012 by Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

2012 Debut Authors (Young Adult & Middle Grade)

146th out of 799 books — 4,583 voters

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom by Christopher Healy

Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger

Middle Grade Novels of 2012

21st out of 281 books — 446 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 3,000)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Nov 16, 2012 Wendy Darling rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: middle-grade, mystery-traditional, 2012-publication, august, ss, supportive-author, deliciously-creepy, sweet-old-fashioned, read-2012, 2012-favorites, horror

Are you in the mood to spooked? Here is a delightfully dreadful tale that will give you the creepy-crawlies.

12-year-old Victoria's best friend Lawrence has gone missing. Not only is she confused and lonely after his disappearance, but no one in town seems to remember who he was. Prickly, persnickety Victoria is determined to find out what happened to him, and gradually her questions lead her straight to the tall, gray-brick Home at the end of her street where the bright-eyed Mrs. Cavendish live...more

65 likes · like · see review

Jan 31, 2012 Claire Legrand rated it 5 of 5 stars · (Review from the author)

I was not, dear readers, going to rate my own book, but its main character, Victoria, thought it was extremely, unnecessarily silly for me not to. In fact, she would not have it any other way.

"It isn't bragging or disingenuous or anything like that," she sniffed. "It's simply taking pride in your own work." She stared at me, an eyebrow raised. "Don't you have any pride?"

"Well . . . a healthy amount, I guess . . . It was an incredibly fun book to write."

Victoria nodded briskly. "Well of course i...more

106 likes · like · see review

Nov 12, 2012 Thor rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-that-should-be-better, almost-kick-ass, almost-bad-ass-heroine, failed-potential, not-bad, should-be-better

Actual rating 3.5

Well, hello for the first time in a long time dear readers.

I apologise from the bottom of my heart for my absence but life happened and I needed to take some time. But I did get some reading done whilst I was gone. And of the books I have read lately there have been precious few that I have actually been excited for in any way, shape or form. And one of the few is actually the middle grade horror-esque yarn by Clare Legrand, The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls.

Now I waited for...more Actual rating 3.5

Well, hello for the first time in a long time dear readers.

I apologise from the bottom of my heart for my absence but life happened and I needed to take some time. But I did get some reading done whilst I was gone. And of the books I have read lately there have been precious few that I have actually been excited for in any way, shape or form. And one of the few is actually the middle grade horror-esque yarn by Clare Legrand, The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls.

Now I waited for this book to come out… for an age (why in the hell does Australia take so long to get absolutely anything from the states?). And when I first started reading it, I tore into it with the ferocity of a hungry piranha that happens across an unwary piece of meat… except, y’know… I didn’t eat the book.

I was absorbed in the simple, yet beautiful way that Ms Legrand composed her story. With the way that she crafted the air of tension and unease that permeated the opening with children vanishing and then reappearing after a time… different. Yet despite the obvious skill that was used to weave a world of dark mysteries, I never felt truly engaged.

Our young heroine is Victoria; she is for all intents and purposes, the class swot. The brain if you will. And she despises anything that negates, tarnishes or in any way throws in to doubt her status of perfection. And I just could not relate to her. I didn’t care for her, she’s cold, she’s aloof, and she’s so wrapped up in the minutiae of the world that she doesn’t comprehend others. She is one of those kids who doesn’t have friends, she has projects. And I do suspect that that is the point of her as a character. To be a stark contrast to the, comparatively speaking, normality of the children who are taken.

But after the first few chapters is when it all starts to get a bit weird. We follow Victoria’s investigation into the strange and hidden secret of her towns history and to that of the orphanage that sits atop a small hill on a road like that of many a well to do community. And the weirdness takes on a darker edge, an edge of myth meeting startling reality in a way that, if I were younger and much less jaded, would probably have creeped me out rather than scared me silly, because that is the crux of this story.

It’s not a scare your pants off kind of childish horror that a series from the 90’s *cough*goosebumps*cough* wanted to be, but is more a psychological thriller for pre-teens… which then has monsters and bugs and creepy assed fricking marionettes and lots of other things that are scary as all hell to kids. I enjoyed this book… not as much as I was hoping but still a lot, however it fell into that trap that so often does befall books recently…

When I was reading it, I didn’t really want to stop. Yet when I put it down, I didn’t really want to pick it back up again either… Not for any particular reason other than a great sense of… meh. It wasn’t that it was bad, honestly it was better crafted than a lot of fiction for younger readers… ah that reminds me (wanders off to continue stamping on Alice in Zombieland “I STILL HAVEN’T FORGIVEN YOU, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!”).

Where was I? Erm… ah right, it IS, and I cannot emphasise this enough, probably the single most creepy middle grade book I have ever read. And it IS readable to much older audiences (looks at his greying hair in the mirror… I’m only 25 ffs, why so much grey?) but if you want my opinion, this book would be best served to all by reading it, in an appropriately dramatic fashion, to your children before bedtime… wait, you don’t want to creep your kids out before bed? That’s not normal!? Oh… right… that must just be me then.

I do recommend this book, but try to read it on a cold rainy day, when there is little else to do and you’ll probably make it through in one sitting, because otherwise… you’ll just get distrac… oh look, shiny… pretty foil…

Happy reading,
Archer.(less)

9 likes · like · see review

Mar 19, 2013 TheBookSmugglers rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: best-of-2012, charming-mg, mg

Originally reviewed on The Book Smugglers

REVIEW

First Impressions:

Thea: Awe. Horror. Utter, depraved delight. All of these are emotions I experienced while reading The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls, the debut novel from Claire Legrand. Cavendish has a little bit of everything - a dash of Matilda, a heaping dose of Coraline, a touch of Tim Burton, topped off with a whole lotta original awesomeness, too, naturally. This is one fantastic book, and I loved it from cover to cover.

Ana: When I fin...more

5 likes · like · see review

Nov 23, 2012 Kathy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-october-2012

Lovely, creepy book. It doesn't really start out that way. 12 year old Victoria is one of those perfect children who are always neat and well behaved. She gets straight A's and even has curly blond hair and blue eyes. Her only friend is a musically talented boy that she befriended in order to improve him. Even the town they live in is picture postcard perfect. Then, children begin to disappear. Victoria doesn't notice it much until her friend Lawrence is one of them. Then, she decides that SHE w...more

2 likes · like · see review

Sep 18, 2012 Michelle (FabbityFabBookReviews) rated it 5 of 5 stars

The book is described as a combination of Neil Gaiman and Trenton Lee Stewarts' Mysterious Benedict Society. And it is, but it is also its own wonderfully sinister creation. This is not a writer nor story that sugarcoats disturbing events! Part fable, part fairy tale, and all horror story, The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls is a veritably frightening, gruesome, and beautifully written story.

Victoria Wright likes everything to be just so. She is a perfect student, an overachiever, and top of h...more The book is described as a combination of Neil Gaiman and Trenton Lee Stewarts' Mysterious Benedict Society. And it is, but it is also its own wonderfully sinister creation. This is not a writer nor story that sugarcoats disturbing events! Part fable, part fairy tale, and all horror story, The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls is a veritably frightening, gruesome, and beautifully written story.

Victoria Wright likes everything to be just so. She is a perfect student, an overachiever, and top of her class (well, in everything but music). Lawrence, a disheveled classmate and brilliant piano player, is taken on by Victoria as a project. She hopes that Lawrence will learn from her perfection or, at the very least, that she may make him over as a more put-together, presentable boy. But as their peculiar friendship grows, strange and malevolent things are happening in their picturesque town of Belleville. Cold, forceful winds; strange whisperings; scuttling, noisy pinching roaches; and a frightening talk with a teacher prick Victoria's interest- and annoyance. It seems that only Victoria notices that adults and classmates around her are acting very strange, very robotic, and unlike themselves...and she seems to be the only one who dares question things when children and adults alike start disappearing at monstrous rates. When Lawrence disappears, Victoria takes it upon herself to uncover and discover the Cavendish home- and bring Lawrence back.

I think Legrand really excels in making her descriptions of the supernatural and terrifying occurrences inspire intense emotion. There is something to be said for a children's novel which can invite emotional and visceral reactions. There are more than a few passages where I felt uncomfortable, blanched more than a little bit, and more than a few passages where I felt such a venomous hatred for the villains of the story that I had to close my eyes! I would recommend this read to anyone who enjoys macabre fairy-tales, and/or writing along the lines of J.K. Rowling, Jane Yolen, Jackson Pearce, Neil Gaiman, Gail Carson Levine, and the Brothers Grimm. I thought the ending of the novel was so very ominous (and devious) that it left me wondering if we may ever hear about Victoria or The Cavendish Home again.(less)

3 likes · like · see review

Feb 10, 2013 Carina Olsen rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

I just re-read this perfect book! New book recommendation below :)

----------

I first read this book about half a year ago. Ever since I first finished it I have wanted to re-read it. And today I finally did. And I still want to read it again and again :) The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls is an amazing book. Truly perfect. Great writing, amazing characters, and the best creepy scary plot. It also has such a beautiful cover. I love that it's a middle grade book, even though it felt way too scar...more

2 likes · like · see review

Mar 05, 2013 J.W. Parente rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-fantasy

Ever since I first met Miss Legrand during our friendly writer chats and critique sessions, I knew she would make a work worth publishing one day.

It's to my extreme pleasure to state that The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls is a debut novel unlike any other. It is wonderfully creepy, dark and a pleasure from beginning to end. The main character, Victoria, is a prim and proper student trying to be the best at everything. When she befriends a student of not so perfect grades, Lawrence, he becom...more

1 like · like · see review

Oct 24, 2012 Lupine rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: elementary-school, horror, read-aloud, school-visit, suspense, tween, chapter-book

A perfectly creepy book for the middle grade/teen reader. Great for Halloween time or any time you want a book to give you a bit of a chill. Great characters as well.

2 likes · like · see review

May 04, 2013 Agatha rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2013

First off, the spine and the cover are BRILLIANT. And the inside paper thing, and the random little drawings of bugs...creepy. I loved it.

The Cavendish Home For Boys and Girls is about a girl named Victoria who loves perfection. She is perfect, her parents are perfect, and school is perfect. Mostly.
Her friend Lawrence however, is not perfect, and Victoria is constently trying to help him. But one day he disappears, and no one seems to mind, except Victoria. So she decides to pay a visit to Mrs...more

like · see review

Apr 29, 2013 Leah (The Pretty Good Gatsby) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013, fantasy, awesome-creepy-characters, creepy-crawlies, ya, horror

http://theprettygoodgatsby.wordpress....

"We don't run indoors. We don't disobey our elders. We don't speak too loudly. Sometimes we don't even speak at all, hmm? Sometimes children shouldn't say a word."

Victoria Wright is the best at everything she does. She wakes up at precisely the same time every single day, she expects her school uniform to be pressed just so, and all of her desk accessories are in clearly labelled boxes. Her parents brag about her to their friends - who certainly don't have...more

1 like · like · see review

Mar 27, 2013 Becca.jensen rated it 5 of 5 stars

Legrand's novel begins the day Victoria Wright (who is, consequently, always right) realizes her best and only friend, Lawrence Prewitt, has gone missing. Not only is this thoroughly upsetting, it may also derail Victoria's efforts to reform the poor boy into something presentable. Victoria is someone who likes having things just so, and Lawrence, with his unkempt look and passionate piano playing, has become her pet project.

But as Victoria investigates the disappearance of her best and only fri...more

like · see review

Mar 12, 2013 Barbara rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: bullies, families, fantasy, friendship, ncbla2013, school, self-esteem, teachers

Deliciously creepy and delightful in so many ways, this book by a debut author had me wavering between a 4 and a 5 in my rating. What you need to know, though, is that it's good, very good, but anyone who has a fear of insects or those little clickety-clack sound-making cockroaches won't enjoy this one. It's not that I like the little buggers, mind you, but the author describes their sounds and movements so perfectly that I was sure she must have spent some time in the company of bugs. The book...more

1 like · like · see review

Mar 02, 2013 Dalton Gamroth rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone who hates or love middle grade

Shelves: want-to-own

Okay, so this is going to be my first review, like, ever. It's kind of awkward for me, but whatever, because this book simply must be written about, as I believe it is severely under-hyped.

So, this book got me back into middle-grade. I even went through today and added a bunch of middle-grade books to my to-read list. And I also added the rest of Legrand's books, even though they aren't published, to my list. Because, to anyone who's reading this review, this book was AWESOME.

Usually, I detest m...more Okay, so this is going to be my first review, like, ever. It's kind of awkward for me, but whatever, because this book simply must be written about, as I believe it is severely under-hyped.

So, this book got me back into middle-grade. I even went through today and added a bunch of middle-grade books to my to-read list. And I also added the rest of Legrand's books, even though they aren't published, to my list. Because, to anyone who's reading this review, this book was AWESOME.

Usually, I detest middle-grade, because a large majority of it is all the same plot with the same characters, except the title is different and a couple of letters within the characters' names are different. But this book is completely original. And awesome. And great.

This book was about a twelve-year-old girl named Victoria, who is essentially the Hermione from the first part of Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone who we all kind of secretley hated. Except I didn't hate Victoria. I LOVED her. Yes, she was annoying as hell, but she was hard-working and determined and smart and resourceful. Anyways, so one day Vicky's friend Lawrence (who was also cool as shit, might I add) goes missing. Vicky's will have absolutley none of this. So, obviously, she goes investigating, and uncovers some rather deliciously disturbing things. And that's all I'm really going to say about that, because I think it would be fun to experience this novel without really knowing much about it first.

So, lemme tell you about the characters. I loved them. Especially Lawrence, Victoria, and Mrs. Cavendish, in that order. They were just great. One problem I had with this book, though, was that the other characters all seemed to lack depth, and, yes, they were side characters, but still. Usually when this would have driven me insane in any other book though, in this novel, I didn't mind.

So what else did I love? Oh yeah:

1) the role music/noise played in the book.
2) the character development. It came subtly, in small gestures, and it was perfect.
3) the writing.
4) the ending (epilogue).
5) the fact that it was creepier than most "horror" YA novels I've read.
6) the incredibly, INCREDIBLY small romance near the end. It was adorbs.
7) the absolutley magnificent illustrations (the one of Lawrence at the piano, anyone?)

Please, PLEASE pick up this book. Especially if you hate middle-grade. Because I have a feeling that if you hate middle-grade and you read this, your feelings about it are going to change.

Love, all around.(less)

like · see review

Feb 18, 2013 BAYA Librarian rated it 3 of 5 stars

Victoria strives for perfection in all things, she likes to have a tidy appearance, her room is always organized, and she gets perfect grades. Her parents are attentive yet not overly affectionate, and their large home just like everything else in her village is perfect. The only thing in her life that is not perfect is her friend Lawrence. He tends to be untidy, and she always needs to nag him for not doing his homework. Then one day Lawrence goes missing and Victoria begins to notice he isn’t...more

like · see review

Feb 15, 2013 Zen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013

The Cavendish Home For Boys and Girls is, in a word, delightful — the book, that is, not the place. The titular building is a thoroughly creepy establishment where paintings move, hallways breathe, and children's dreams go to die. Fortunately for our heroine, Victoria, she isn't just any child: she's the top of her class!

Victoria is a perfectionist. She typically gets all A's, sorts her belongings into labeled boxes, and has the best, glossiest curls. Her only friend — no, not her friend, her pr...more The Cavendish Home For Boys and Girls is, in a word, delightful — the book, that is, not the place. The titular building is a thoroughly creepy establishment where paintings move, hallways breathe, and children's dreams go to die. Fortunately for our heroine, Victoria, she isn't just any child: she's the top of her class!

Victoria is a perfectionist. She typically gets all A's, sorts her belongings into labeled boxes, and has the best, glossiest curls. Her only friend — no, not her friend, her project, because she doesn't need such messy things as friendships — Lawrence is the exact opposite of a perfectionist, with his untidy habits and a skunk-like stripe of grey prematurely marring his hair. Victoria doesn't care about Lawrence the skunk. She wouldn't miss him and his dumb piano playing if he were gone, she's sure... until the day Lawrence actually disappears. Suddenly, Victoria is noticing all sorts of uncanny phenomena in her previously perfect little town, and everything seems to be connected to the eerily lovely Miss Cavendish.

I love that Victoria's strengths are her orderliness and her need to be excellent at everything; I love that Lawrence's charms are his disorderliness and his "do what you love and @#$% the rest" attitude. Their minds work completely differently, but they're both great, and they're great together. It's always nice to be reminded that there's no singular "right" way to be a person, although it certainly helps to have a good head on your shoulders when you're dealing with a Miss Cavendish! I often caught myself reading slower than usual as I made my way through this adventure, because I found Victoria and Lawrence SO endearing in their opposite ways — I just wanted them to talk and argue and conspire and hug(!) and hold hands(!!!!) forever.

This was such an entertaining and satisfying read. I'm really glad that I went ahead and impatiently splurged on the hardcover rather than waiting, because it was worth it! (Plus I got the HC of Summer and Bird while I was at it, and they look SO lovely side by side. I think I'll read it next!)(less)

1 like · like · see review

Feb 08, 2013 Erin Stuhlsatz rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book was delightfully scary! Maybe on the scary side of delightful, but definitely gross and creepy--perfect for certain 9-year-old patrons I can think of.

Victoria Wright is perfect. She gets perfect grades and always does what she is told. Of course, she doesn't have friends: she doesn't have time for friends. Except for Lawrence. Victoria adopts Lawrence, thinking that if she can train him to tie his shoes, keep his shirt tucked in, do his homework, and quit humming (all the time!), she...more

like · see review

Dec 18, 2012 Kira Yeversky rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: supernatural, fantasy

This book is creepy. Like, Coraline creepy. I definitely enjoyed it, but it had the horror-story quality in which the reader can see that TERRIBLE THINGS WILL HAPPEN long before the protagonist does.

I felt particular empathy with Victoria's overachieving perfectionist tendencies (though not her fastidious nature, I'm a bit of a slob). As a kid I definitely got overwrought if I had less-than-perfect grades and didn't understand why other people didn't do their homework. I appreciated reading a c...more

like · see review

Dec 17, 2012 Charles Markee rated it 4 of 5 stars

Mrs. Cavendish is one creepy lady and Victoria, our heroine protagonist has her hands full when kids begin disappearing, towns’ folks stop being very human and her own parents succumb to the spell. Ms. Legrand’s writing craft is a delight to read and she keeps it creepified on every page. I particularly enjoyed Victoria’s voice and her over-the-top arrogance. Who else would have a melt down faced with her lowest grade ever, a “B.” The second place winner on my enjoyment scale was music dispellin...more Mrs. Cavendish is one creepy lady and Victoria, our heroine protagonist has her hands full when kids begin disappearing, towns’ folks stop being very human and her own parents succumb to the spell. Ms. Legrand’s writing craft is a delight to read and she keeps it creepified on every page. I particularly enjoyed Victoria’s voice and her over-the-top arrogance. Who else would have a melt down faced with her lowest grade ever, a “B.” The second place winner on my enjoyment scale was music dispelling evil. Music is incredibly powerful for healing and Victoria learns to use it to defend herself against devilish threats. Music has always thrilled me and it was ultimately satisfying to see it used against the forces of evil. It was no surprise then to discover the author used to be a musician.

I read the Cavendish book with a sense of relief, since I had been worried about my own work being too edgy for the pre-teen middle grade marketplace. Mrs. Cavendish’s dark side is a bit more gothic than my evil characters and depicted in a very scary way. I give this author credit for high marks on the spooky index. I particularly liked the bugs that seemed to be everywhere including printed on the pages. I was a little surprised they did not gross out Victoria.

This is the second pre-teen book that I’ve seen with illustrations. The first was the Blogtastic novel series by Rose Cooper. In both cases, the illustrations add to the impact of the books; comedy for Cooper and spookiness for Legrand.

I found only one serious flaw in the storyline. Pressed on all sides by evil pressures, Victoria finally buckles. Yet after sinking to the depths of despair, she mysteriously recovers. I expected, but didn’t find the dramatic motivation for this emotional switch. What triggered the change? Also, the ending scenes closed a bit fast for me and I lost the ability to visualization the characters who had been absorbed into the garden.

Overall, this was an exciting and enjoyable read and I would recommend it for eleven and twelve year old pre-teens and more mature younger readers.
(less)

like · see review

Nov 12, 2012 Snappop rated it 5 of 5 stars

Fastidious Victoria has a single friend, the sloppy and absent minded musician Lawrence. She considers him her personal project, and their friendship a sort of community service. But when Lawrence disappears, Victoria finds that she's the only one to care, the only one who finds something wrong with the silence ringing where Lawrence's piano music should be playing. She notices with mounting horror that all the children who don't quite fit the town's idea of normal have quietly gone missing, for...more

2 likes · like · see review

Nov 04, 2012 lia rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: children-books, young-adult

The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls is a horror book for young adult. I honestly feel that it is too gruesome for children.

A bit like the stepford wives but with children, The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls told the story of how far would anyone go to get a perfect child.

Victoria is a winner. She believes that she embodies her namesake "victory". She likes to do things just 'so' and she likes to be the best at everything. One day she decided to take a pet project. A boy name Lawrence or w...more

2 likes · like · see review

Oct 25, 2012 Heidi rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: everyone, but especially fans of Coraline and Flavia de Luce

Shelves: fantasy, ya, vine

This is a super duper creepy crawly story about a prim, precocious (but also hilarious) 12-year-old girl who realizes that the children in her perfect little town are being "disappeared." No one else seems to notice this, however, and so it is left up to Victoria to solve the mystery and make things right.

Although the book seems aimed at tweens, it totally freaked me out more than once (and I'm a thirtysomething...). There is some incredibly weird and ghoulish stuff that happens, like millions o...more

2 likes · like · see review

Nov 19, 2012 Danelle rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy-supernatural-paranormal, horror, young-adult, childrens

Victoria's life is perfect. Everything in it is perfect. From her gleaming curls, to her organized and labeled boxes, to her white room, and her perfect grades - even the town she lives in - everything is nice and orderly, and, well, perfect. It's perfect until her best and only friend, Lawrence, goes missing.

You see, when Lawrence goes missing, no one seems to care. No one seems to even remember Lawrence. Even Victoria has to make an effort to think of 'Lawrence-things' to get a clear picture o...more Victoria's life is perfect. Everything in it is perfect. From her gleaming curls, to her organized and labeled boxes, to her white room, and her perfect grades - even the town she lives in - everything is nice and orderly, and, well, perfect. It's perfect until her best and only friend, Lawrence, goes missing.

You see, when Lawrence goes missing, no one seems to care. No one seems to even remember Lawrence. Even Victoria has to make an effort to think of 'Lawrence-things' to get a clear picture of her best friend. Victoria took Lawrence on as a "special project" and was helping him to get his act together. Lawrence had messy hair, played the piano too much, and wasn't organized and neat. Without Lawrence around, Victoria is kind of lost. So she begins an investigation on the children who've gone missing recently. Her investigation leads her right to Mrs. Cavendish's Home For Boys and Girls. You see, children seem to be disappearing and Victoria finds that they go to Mrs. Cavendish's and they either come out well-behaved and quiet or they disappear. When the adults in her town of Belleville tell her lies or warn her away from her task, she refuses to quit. She didn't get top marks in everything for nothing!

The Cavendish Home For Boys And Girls reminded me of so many other children's horror stories - especially Coraline. There are some pretty gross things in this story that aren't comepletely evident in the beginning. Only when Victoria begins to put things together do you realize how awful things really are; we're talking bullying, physical abuse, murder, and (if you can imagine) even worse. (I'm SO glad I'm a vegetarian!)

I loved Victoria, her precociousness, her preoccupation with perfection and even her cause for questioning things that she otherwise wouldn't have. The book is probably more young-adult book than children's. The horror in it is well done and just suspenseful enough, and thought it's most definitely horror, there are funny bits in it as well. ("I am going to die," her brain recited calmly. "I am going to be stabbed until I am dead. How infuriating. I have so much left to do.")

This is Legrand's first book and I look forward to more.(less)

like · see review

Nov 14, 2012 Pamela rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc-review-copy

I find I like a great many Young Adult books but the number of middle-grade/early teen books that catch my imagination are far fewer. (Authors writing for this section of the market can be so condescending. Yuck.)

But "The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls" has none of these problems. Claire Legrand writes brilliantly, and her plotting and timing is perfect. She carefully builds the tension and leaves the reader clues, and by the time you're at the back of the book your racing down the page tryin...more

1 like · like · see review

Dec 25, 2012 Nikka rated it 5 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

1 like · like · see review

Dec 10, 2012 Katie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012, books-i-own, best-of-2012

I don't read much middle grade, but when I do, it's always really really good. Such is the case with Cavendish. This is a book that's utterly terrifying in the best way possible. When I met Claire Legrand, she said that before it had a title, she referred to it as her "creepy orphanage story", and that's a pretty apt description of what this is.
One of the great things about this book is that it's illustrated as well, by Sarah Watts. This makes all the terrifying scenes extra scary, because all o...more

like · see review

Mar 11, 2013 Susan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: booktalkers

Well, yikes! This ranks up there with Coraline for creepiness. Victoria Wright is 12 and her best friend Lawrence Prewitt has just disappeared. This annoys Victoria more than worries her--Lawrence is her only friend but she treats him more like a project than a person. She decides to search for him starting at his house only to come away feeling that something is not right. And, as always, she's right. It becomes apparent that there is a lot that is not right in the town of Belleville. Victoria...more

like · see review

Oct 26, 2012 Lumpy Space Princess rated it 4 of 5 stars

A nice read. It reminds me a lot of Neil Gaiman's Coraline, actually: a heroine who discovers a secret house whose horrifying reality is constructed by a terrible mother archetype. There were some frightening moments, particularly any scene where Miss Cavendish, the crazed woman who runs the orphanage, implements another one of her sadistic methods to "perfect" her children. Even more chilling is the story's implication that the Cavendish home was created to start kidnapping children BECAUSE the...more

1 like · like · see review

Oct 14, 2012 Nick Scott rated it 4 of 5 stars

A solid, creepy YA book. I didn't necessarily feel drawn into the world Legrand created, but that world does hold its own distinct flavor. I'm not sure how difficult it would have been for a YA reader to figure things out, but a lot of the mysteries as to what stuff was (ie. the gardens, the goafers, etc) I had figured out pretty quick. I really liked the parallels shown between Victoria and Ms. Cavendish, showing how easy it can be to take things too far, even when you think they're for the bes...more

1 like · like · see review

Jun 01, 2013 Lauren rated it 4 of 5 stars

This spring, I’m on a real run of reading books that would be great reads during the Halloween season (naturally, come October, I won’t be able to find a decent Halloween-type book). If you, like me, enjoy reading creepy (but not too creepy) books around Halloween, definitely add this one to the list. Although a children’s book, I think a lot of adults would enjoy as well, mostly because it has a sort of nostalgic, hey-didn’t-I-read-this-when-I-was-a-kid feel.

Twelve-year-old Victoria lives in B...more

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 99 100 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

combine
Other Editions (3)

Genres

Childrens > Middle Grade

87 users

Mystery

64 users

Fantasy

57 users

Horror

45 users

Young Adult

41 users

Childrens

29 users

Fantasy > Paranormal

24 users

Adventure

11 users

Childrens > Juvenile

9 users

Thriller > Mystery Thriller

8 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Claire Legrand

Claire is a Texan living in New Jersey with a dragon and two cats. She writes fantastical stories, and her daemon is an ocelot but sometimes a unicorn.

blog | tumblr | facebook | twitter | pinterest

Her first novel, THE CAVENDISH HOME FOR BOYS AND GIRLS, out now from Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers, will probably give you nightmares. Or at the very least make you buy a nightlight.

Her se...more

More about Claire Legrand...

Books by Claire Legrand

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About The Cavendish Hom...

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

Quotes from The Cavendish Home for...

“I am going to die, her brain recited calmly. I am going to be stabbed until I am died. How infuriating. I have so much left to do.” — 7 people liked it

“But how can she change a person like that? said Victoria.

She just can. I'd never have thought before, ever, that I could hate music and want to leave it behind, but now--

Lawrence Prewitt, said Victoria. Her voice was shaking, but she stood up and put on such a fierce dazzle that even Donovan seemed to wake up. Don't you dare ever start talking like that again, or when I get out of here, I'll leave you behind with the gofers. Lawrence smiled. I've missed your threats, Vicky.” — 6 people liked it

More quotes…

title link	preview: The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls
avg rating	preview: The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls Goodreads rating: 3.92 (791 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10893214-the-cavendish-home-for-boys-and-girls?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1336841328l/10893214.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10893214-the-cavendish-home-for-boys-and-girls?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls by Claire Legrand[/url]

The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website