WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD
Wow! What a gripping and moving read. Having mainly just read YA, modern-day novels for a while, I wasn't sure how much I'd enjoy this book at first, with my mum having just got it for me at a car boot sale, but now I can safely and happily say that I am definitely moving onto this genre of historical fiction and will definitely be reading more of Rosie Goodwin's books from now on, having already ordered three others. I realised as well that this is the genre for me after all, as I have always enjoyed fairy tales and other historical fiction books and this book definitely had a fairy tale-esque feeling it, only a bit more grown up.
I found myself determined to keep on reading and find out what would happen with the suspense of it all keeping me more and more curious and hooked. I really found myself feeling great empathy for Esme and Gabriel, having felt so much pain for both of them, not only seeing but feeling just how much adversity they had to suffer and how it only got worse and worse and the dark turns their lives took halfway through the book. You hear of abusive relatives in stories loads, but their grandfather was beyond abusive, and was just so damn scary and evil that whenever he appeared I would feel myself jump and my heart sink even, knowing things were only going to get worse. What was so scary and disturbing was that you think he's horrible and abusive enough with the way he emotionally and physically abuses his grandchildren, but then he also ends up sexually abusing his minor grand-daughter, which I did not see coming and really took a dark turn in things. He reminded me of Mr Brocklehurst from Jane Eyre being a fundamental christian clergyman and being a similarly horrible, heartless tyrant who abuses children, only far worse, to the point he might even make Mr Brocklehurst look like a teletubby! But what topped off this evilness was the reveal that he was actually a serial killer, which was again another dark turn that was taken, as you start off thinking he's just a really horrible, abusive, heartless tyrant, but then he's revealed to be a pedophile who molesters his minor grand-daughter, then a serial killer, and you realise just how incredibly dangerous and scary he actually is! Oh and he actually killed the dog! Poor Gip, he was just innocent in the whole thing, and the fact he'd harm innocent animals just for pleasure as well as humans is honestly the lowest and most evil kind of scumbag you can get! I just wish there'd been more closure on the killing the dog part, as it wasn't really addressed after that. The biggest and darkest shock of all was when he killed Mrs Sparrow (albeit off-page), who had been so kind to Esme and Gabriel despite her initial apologism for their grandfather, and the fact it was just after she finally realised he could no longer be tolerated and was going to tell him she was done with him. I was really hoping she'd get her happy ending, she was the ultimate tragic figure in the story. Oh and that plot twist-he was her nephew! Only I was a bit unsure of how that would work as I would have thought they'd be quite close in age but I guess it can possibly work with aunties and uncles and nieces and nephews. The most cathartic part in the whole book was when her ghost, along with the ghosts of all the other women he killed, killed him. I was waiting and looking forward to him being caught by the police and hung, but honestly this was so much cooler and more fitting! It did annoy me though that after how brutally he'd physically, emotionally and sexually abused Esme, and just after he was about to kill her too, she still couldn't help but feel "a little guilty" about his death, even after she'd fully acknowledged how wicked he was. That and how naive she was when hearing that Mrs Sparrow died by murder and it didn't occur to her that her grandfather could have done it even though it was right after Mrs Sparrow was going to tell him she was quitting and having nothing to do with him. She was a great character otherwise, but really, why would she have felt guilty after all that he had done?! Not to mention it's not like she'd even killed him herself.
Poor Gabriel, I felt so much pain for him when he started attending the boarding school his grandfather sent him to, only for it to be even worse than living with his grandfather, having been very severely bullied every day by both all the other boys (bar Jeremy of course!) and all the teachers! That honestly made me feel more angry than ever, I honestly felt steam coming out of my ears when he was getting severely bullied only for the horrible teachers to all side with the bullies and blame everything on Gabriel, even when the other boys were clearly at fault! The teachers made me even angrier than the boys, as it was clear that they knew the other boys (especially Thomas Broadhurst!) were bullying Gabriel and were just simply supporting the boys in their bullying of him, because they hated Gabriel just as much as they did for being a gypsy and not from a wealthy background like them! Honestly I hated those teachers more than anything, the absolute scumbags, they made me so angry and I just wish they'd got their comeuppance as well! Even with Jeremy being the only person in that entire school who was kind to Gabriel it still didn't make things a lot better for him, as the bullying and abuse he suffered from both his teachers and peers only got more and more severe and darker! I wish they'd all died and not just the main bully. Poor Gabriel, having been bullied into committing manslaughter, which is when things took yet another dark turn, as I was so glad that scumbag Broadhurst had died yet was really worried for Gabriel realising that it meant if he was found by the police he'd get killed himself, and realise that in Victorian times there probably wasn't such a thing as 'compassionate grounds', or even any exceptions being made, especially given the amount of stigma there already was towards Gabriel by all these people. I honestly wasn't sure how things were going to pan out there, as I wasn't sure if a happy ending was really going to be that easy after all, but I was really happy to be proven wrong in the end and that they managed it.
I like as well the disparities between social class that were highlighted, with Olivia, who came from an upper-class, noble background, having clearly lived a much happier and more fortunate life than Esme, yet the two of them still ended up becoming close friends, and like how Olivia and her family (with the exception of Luke!) weren't snobs! The only lack of closure there was was with Luke, who turned out to be really unpleasant and obnoxious, as it would have been good if Olivia and her parents saw his true colours and went off him (though then again he was their family I guess!) Then you see the even more infuriating disparities between the working class Gabriel and his upper class peers at the school, who receive much better treatment from the teachers than him due to their upper class status/background, whereas Jeremy is mistreated and prejudged for being from a working class, gypsy background, with the first thing the teachers say to him before he even says anything is that they hear he's a gypsy and they've dealt with his sort before so they will know how to handle any trouble with him. The scummy teachers in that scummy school infuriated me more than any other character in the book, having felt more scared of the grandfather than angry to be honest, and I at least was sure he'd end up getting his comeuppance anyway!
I was so happy for Esme and Gabriel getting the happy ending they deserved in the end! Esme had done so well for herself in coming as far as she did, and her job as a Veterinary Nurse seemed so fitting and just the perfect step in her life. The ending with her and Jeremy getting together might have been a bit cliched (who am I kidding very cliched!) but I'm still glad they got together, thinking it to be very fitting indeed, as Jeremy was such a nice guy, easily one of the nicest people in the book.
So yeah, I would definitely say a phenomenal read of historical fiction that made for an excellent holiday read, and will definitely be reading more of Rosie Goodwin's books!
Wow! What a gripping and moving read. Having mainly just read YA, modern-day novels for a while, I wasn't sure how much I'd enjoy this book at first, with my mum having just got it for me at a car boot sale, but now I can safely and happily say that I am definitely moving onto this genre of historical fiction and will definitely be reading more of Rosie Goodwin's books from now on, having already ordered three others. I realised as well that this is the genre for me after all, as I have always enjoyed fairy tales and other historical fiction books and this book definitely had a fairy tale-esque feeling it, only a bit more grown up.
I found myself determined to keep on reading and find out what would happen with the suspense of it all keeping me more and more curious and hooked. I really found myself feeling great empathy for Esme and Gabriel, having felt so much pain for both of them, not only seeing but feeling just how much adversity they had to suffer and how it only got worse and worse and the dark turns their lives took halfway through the book. You hear of abusive relatives in stories loads, but their grandfather was beyond abusive, and was just so damn scary and evil that whenever he appeared I would feel myself jump and my heart sink even, knowing things were only going to get worse. What was so scary and disturbing was that you think he's horrible and abusive enough with the way he emotionally and physically abuses his grandchildren, but then he also ends up sexually abusing his minor grand-daughter, which I did not see coming and really took a dark turn in things. He reminded me of Mr Brocklehurst from Jane Eyre being a fundamental christian clergyman and being a similarly horrible, heartless tyrant who abuses children, only far worse, to the point he might even make Mr Brocklehurst look like a teletubby! But what topped off this evilness was the reveal that he was actually a serial killer, which was again another dark turn that was taken, as you start off thinking he's just a really horrible, abusive, heartless tyrant, but then he's revealed to be a pedophile who molesters his minor grand-daughter, then a serial killer, and you realise just how incredibly dangerous and scary he actually is! Oh and he actually killed the dog! Poor Gip, he was just innocent in the whole thing, and the fact he'd harm innocent animals just for pleasure as well as humans is honestly the lowest and most evil kind of scumbag you can get! I just wish there'd been more closure on the killing the dog part, as it wasn't really addressed after that. The biggest and darkest shock of all was when he killed Mrs Sparrow (albeit off-page), who had been so kind to Esme and Gabriel despite her initial apologism for their grandfather, and the fact it was just after she finally realised he could no longer be tolerated and was going to tell him she was done with him. I was really hoping she'd get her happy ending, she was the ultimate tragic figure in the story. Oh and that plot twist-he was her nephew! Only I was a bit unsure of how that would work as I would have thought they'd be quite close in age but I guess it can possibly work with aunties and uncles and nieces and nephews. The most cathartic part in the whole book was when her ghost, along with the ghosts of all the other women he killed, killed him. I was waiting and looking forward to him being caught by the police and hung, but honestly this was so much cooler and more fitting! It did annoy me though that after how brutally he'd physically, emotionally and sexually abused Esme, and just after he was about to kill her too, she still couldn't help but feel "a little guilty" about his death, even after she'd fully acknowledged how wicked he was. That and how naive she was when hearing that Mrs Sparrow died by murder and it didn't occur to her that her grandfather could have done it even though it was right after Mrs Sparrow was going to tell him she was quitting and having nothing to do with him. She was a great character otherwise, but really, why would she have felt guilty after all that he had done?! Not to mention it's not like she'd even killed him herself.
Poor Gabriel, I felt so much pain for him when he started attending the boarding school his grandfather sent him to, only for it to be even worse than living with his grandfather, having been very severely bullied every day by both all the other boys (bar Jeremy of course!) and all the teachers! That honestly made me feel more angry than ever, I honestly felt steam coming out of my ears when he was getting severely bullied only for the horrible teachers to all side with the bullies and blame everything on Gabriel, even when the other boys were clearly at fault! The teachers made me even angrier than the boys, as it was clear that they knew the other boys (especially Thomas Broadhurst!) were bullying Gabriel and were just simply supporting the boys in their bullying of him, because they hated Gabriel just as much as they did for being a gypsy and not from a wealthy background like them! Honestly I hated those teachers more than anything, the absolute scumbags, they made me so angry and I just wish they'd got their comeuppance as well! Even with Jeremy being the only person in that entire school who was kind to Gabriel it still didn't make things a lot better for him, as the bullying and abuse he suffered from both his teachers and peers only got more and more severe and darker! I wish they'd all died and not just the main bully. Poor Gabriel, having been bullied into committing manslaughter, which is when things took yet another dark turn, as I was so glad that scumbag Broadhurst had died yet was really worried for Gabriel realising that it meant if he was found by the police he'd get killed himself, and realise that in Victorian times there probably wasn't such a thing as 'compassionate grounds', or even any exceptions being made, especially given the amount of stigma there already was towards Gabriel by all these people. I honestly wasn't sure how things were going to pan out there, as I wasn't sure if a happy ending was really going to be that easy after all, but I was really happy to be proven wrong in the end and that they managed it.
I like as well the disparities between social class that were highlighted, with Olivia, who came from an upper-class, noble background, having clearly lived a much happier and more fortunate life than Esme, yet the two of them still ended up becoming close friends, and like how Olivia and her family (with the exception of Luke!) weren't snobs! The only lack of closure there was was with Luke, who turned out to be really unpleasant and obnoxious, as it would have been good if Olivia and her parents saw his true colours and went off him (though then again he was their family I guess!) Then you see the even more infuriating disparities between the working class Gabriel and his upper class peers at the school, who receive much better treatment from the teachers than him due to their upper class status/background, whereas Jeremy is mistreated and prejudged for being from a working class, gypsy background, with the first thing the teachers say to him before he even says anything is that they hear he's a gypsy and they've dealt with his sort before so they will know how to handle any trouble with him. The scummy teachers in that scummy school infuriated me more than any other character in the book, having felt more scared of the grandfather than angry to be honest, and I at least was sure he'd end up getting his comeuppance anyway!
I was so happy for Esme and Gabriel getting the happy ending they deserved in the end! Esme had done so well for herself in coming as far as she did, and her job as a Veterinary Nurse seemed so fitting and just the perfect step in her life. The ending with her and Jeremy getting together might have been a bit cliched (who am I kidding very cliched!) but I'm still glad they got together, thinking it to be very fitting indeed, as Jeremy was such a nice guy, easily one of the nicest people in the book.
So yeah, I would definitely say a phenomenal read of historical fiction that made for an excellent holiday read, and will definitely be reading more of Rosie Goodwin's books!