Tensy Farlow and the Home for Mislaid Children

Jen Storer (author)

Puffin Books, Australia: 2009; 341pp

ISBN: 9780670073399

Genres: adventure, gothic

Issues: family, friendship, loyalty

When Albie Grimble finds a baby girl hidden in a basket of laundry he collected from the local hospital, his life changes forever. It seems that Tensy Farlow as he names the cheerful, red-headed baby, is of some importance.

Not only is the frightening Matron Pluckrose of the gloomy Home for Mislaid Children on the prowl but so is a dreadful river creature. Who is Tensy Farlow that she's so important? So desirable? She has no parents, has startling hair, and, it appears, no Guardian Angel. But despite her strange ways, it seems that Tensy Farlow may be the best thing that ever happened to the neglected and abused orphans - if she can survive long enough to help them. And if Albie Grimble can gather his courage sufficiently to help her.

This rather Victorian-esque gothic tale of orphan slaves, sinister doings by corrupt and avaricious adults, and unearthly beings who protect, inspire and encourage their human charges will delight imaginative readers. There are the necessary archetypes - the evil matron, the feisty boy orphan who knows his way around, the irrepressible heroine - but they are thrown together in and interesting mixture that keeps the pages turning. The Guardian Angels are an imaginative touch and wonderfully believable in their characterisations. Good fun.