The Unadoptables is a beautifully poignant tale that is unlike anything I’ve ever read before. It’s the story of five orphans, each abandoned at the Little Tulip Orphanage in Amsterdam in 1890.
The five babies were left in extraordinary circumstances, but Lotta, Egg, Fenna, Sem and Milou find themselves bound together by their hardships and struggles. This unlikely band quickly become known as The Unadoptables, each with their own strengths that they must now embrace to escape from the orphanage and a future that terrifies them after a series of unfortunate events.
The group of friends set out to help find the truth behind Milou’s heritage, but after following a new clue get much more than they bargained for when they discover an abandoned mill and a desolate puppet theatre. Their new plan sees them determined to hide in plain sight and avoid being exposed and returned to the orphanage, and so begins a grand adventure that will prove the bravery of each of the children and how each will come to shine in their own unique way.
The Unadoptables surprised me with its hauntingly poetic story, I can imagine a young reader will be as eager to discover the tale unfolding as I was. Described as “a most UN-ordinary adventure”, The Unadoptables will be unlike any other middle-grade book that your child has read before. The only difficulty will be deciding which of the orphans is your favourite!
The Unadoptables by Hana Tooke is available from book stores and online retailers for a recommended retail price of R240. It’s recommended for children aged 8 to 12 years. Please be aware that I would assign a trigger warning to this book if your child is adopted.
You can watch a trailer for the book below and even read the first chapter of the book over here if you’d like.
Thanks to Penguin Random House for sharing this book with me.
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