The Unadoptables
In Amsterdam in 1880, five orphaned infants are left on the doorstep of the Little Tulip Orphanage. The orphanage’s matron finds the circumstances of their abandonment intolerable since they do not adhere to her rigid requirements. For example, one of them was placed in a coffin-shaped basket, not a wicker basket, a clear violation of the orphanage rules. Another appears in a coal bucket. The other orphans have similarly quirky circumstances.
The matron’s enmity begins when these five children are dropped off and continues nonstop until they are twelve years old. She serves as the novel’s first antagonist, and what a snarling, unpleasant one she is.
The motley assortment of orphans have waited for years to be adopted into loving families, but they are continually passed by. That is until one day when the sinister Meneer Rotman shows up and offers to adopt all five. Yet he seems to want workers, not members for his family. Will he succeed in his dastardly plans? Will the five orphans be able to stay together, or will they be torn apart?
The story is narrated through the eyes of one of the orphans, Milou, who has a mysterious power that helps her during desperate times. Each orphan has a distinct, unique personality steeped in whimsy, and the plot carries this feeling forward throughout the entire tale. The prose helps by painting a vivid picture of the time and setting.
One word seems to encompass the entire book most satisfactorily: delightful. Read this story to evoke the world of threadbare orphans, desperate henchmen, and ice-covered Amsterdam. Recommended.
