Genre: Middle Grades, Young Adult, Adult, Fantasy
Source: I purchased a copy
This is probably one of the harder reviews I've had to write. I absolutely loved this book. There are so many layers to it that make it hard to write about it. We have a young girl working alongside "Gentleman Jack" a known criminal. She believes he rescued her after her mother abandoned her. While trying to rob a stagecoach Gentleman Jack is caught. This young girl is taken home to the Judge's house. This is a house that has known sorrow. The judge and his wife lost their son and daughter to smallpox. As you read along you realize that things definitely are not what they seem. The judge and his wife try to "tame" this wild girl. She communicates with her dagger who keeps reminding her how much Gentleman Jack has done for her. You know something is afoot whenever she begins to communicate with the dolls in a dollhouse the judge had made for his daughter. The dagger also doesn't like when she thinks she remembers things. It doesn't want her to remember. There are definitely reasons Gentleman Jack has not named her. There are reasons she has been lied to for five years. She is the only one who holds the key to what Gentleman Jack wants. Better than that she holds the key to who and what she is. I tried to explain this to my students and had just as much trouble explaining it to them. I recommend this one to everyone who loves beautiful language, fantasy and, unreliable characters.
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