The house on Hummingbird Island

Sam Angus

Book - 2016

Idie Grace is twelve when she inherits a dilapidated, grand old house on a tropical island, alive with unfamiliar sounds and colours, and is sent away from everything she knows to be the new mistress of Candletrees House. Idie soon realises that she can do whatever she wishes, and fills the house with the many exotic animals she finds on the island: turtles in the bathtub, monkeys in the parlour, and hummingbirds that will eat from the palm of her hand. But the house holds many secrets and the truth behind Idie's inheritance is the biggest secret of all. Perfect for fans of Eva Ibbotson and Katherine Rundell.

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Location Call Number   Status
Children's Room jFICTION/Angus Sam Checked In
Subjects
Published
London Macmillan Children's Books 2016.
Language
English
Main Author
Sam Angus (author)
Other Authors
Steph Laberis (illustrator)
Physical Description
390 pages : illustrations ; 20 cm
ISBN
9781447263036
Contents unavailable.
Review by Booklist Review

A girl uncovers family secrets on a lush Caribbean island in this WWI-era historical novel. When the orphaned Idie turns 12, she inherits an estate called Bathsheba in the West Indies and reluctantly leaves her relatives in England for an unfamiliar island. Idie knows that something unspeakable involving her mother happened at Bathsheba years ago, but nobody will tell her what it was. Despite the secrecy, Idie grows to love Bathsheba, her new friends, and a charming neighbor named Austin. But as Idie grows into adolescence, WWI tears everything apart. Angus' intricate, rich, and romantic language brings the fictional Hummingbird Island to vibrant, idyllic life, but the story does not shy away from darkness. Through letters, Idie learns of the racial injustices faced by the British West Indies Regiment at the hands of white British officers, and she sees firsthand the mental traumas of war when she volunteers at a hospital. With a rich historical setting and a harrowing mystery at its core, Angus' story captures the tender and terrifying process of growing up in a complex world.--Mariko Turk Copyright 2018 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.