First published 2003
Ratchet Clark's bitter mother announces without warning that Ratchet must board a train north to spend summer with relatives she barely knows. The destination is a remote house where elderly twins Penpen and Tilly live in the wilderness. The sisters could not be more different from each other, yet they remain devoted companions. Penpen has adopted a peculiar new belief that any visitor who arrives must be welcomed inside. This policy troubles the more careful Tilly, especially when odd strangers begin appearing on forest paths and forgotten roads where bears roam. Each unexpected guest brings complications to their quiet household. Ratchet discovers family stories she never heard and receives kindness she never knew at home. The summer teaches her that the most unwanted arrivals sometimes carry the most valuable surprises. Horvath balances darkness with humor as unusual characters create outrageous circumstances around the isolated house.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, coming-of-age, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: Africa, House, Wilderness
Period: 20th-century
208 pages · Hardcover · Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)