The Ogress and the Orphans by Kelly Barnhill

“The Ogress and the Orphans” by Kelly Barnhill is a stunning, fantastical novel that recounts the story of a town and its inhabitants. In the beginning, the townsfolk were kind and loving, enjoying the company of their neighbors and friends. Everyone pitched in to ensure the town’s happiness. However, when the library burned down, everything began to change.

People grew untrustworthy, viewing their neighbors as enemies rather than friends. They only trusted their closest family members and, of course, their wonderful, beautiful mayor. Despite this, one group continued to work together and help each other: the orphans. The children in the orphanage did their best to ensure everyone’s happiness, but without the town’s support, it became increasingly difficult to feed all the children. Yet, they knew that there was once a time when everyone helped out; they just had to find a way to make the town better again.

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There was also one other person who helped out the town. She didn’t know about the town’s history or the people, but she just wanted to fit in. The ogress lived at the edge of town, growing vegetables and raising animals in her garden. A murder of crows and a blind dog were the ogress’s only companions. The crows warned her of the town’s distrust, but the ogress believed that she would be able to help and that she would be able to be friends with the townspeople. So, she decided that she would cook, bake, and give gifts to the town.

However, the ogress couldn’t read or write, so the town couldn’t know she was behind the treats. Worse, the mayor and townspeople desperately sought a scapegoat — someone to blame for all their problems — and the ogress was the perfect target: a huge, mysterious creature, who brings only despair. The orphans were another target; they were blamed as mischievous children lacking morals or manners. (Pretty ironic how the two groups actually helping the town are the enemies)

This book really just made me happy. There was some conflict in between, but reading about people doing good things just made me feel all warm and nice inside. Sometimes I don’t want to read something really intense and this book is pretty perfect for that. Honestly, reading about the ogress making treats for the town was probably my favorite part of the book.

Barnhill slowly gives details that you have to piece together to understand the plot. It also made me feel good when I correctly predicted what would happen (even though it probably would’ve been bad if I couldn’t, but still, it made me happy). All the details also seemed to be in the book for a reason. Even the minutiae played a part in the bigger picture. It’s as if the book was a stew and the plot is the broth, the characters are the ingredients, and the details are the spices adding an extra element and more depth to the story.

Barnhill’s novel was a very nice read. Sometimes it’s nice to be able to slow down and read a book. This book would be perfect for that. It makes you think about what’s happening in the book, but also about kindness and neighbors. That sounded a little cliché, but it really was a nice story that made me happy.