The Unadoptables

Author Hana Tooke, illustrated by Ayesha L. Rubio
Narrator Gemma Whelan
Publisher Penguin Random House Children's UK
Publish Date 23 July 2020
Run Time 9 hours and 28 minutes
Format Audio
Genre Children’s / Teenage fiction and true stories, Children’s / Teenage fiction: Action and adventure stories, Children’s / Teenage fiction: Crime and mystery fiction, Children’s / Teenage personal and social topics: Divorce, separation, family break-up.

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What to expect

Brought to you by Puffin.

The remarkable. The extraordinary. The brave.

Way back in the autumn of 1880, five babies are discovered at the Little Tulip Orphanage in most unusual circumstances. Those babies are Lotta, Egbert, Fenna, Sem and Milou.
The vile matron calls the children 'the unadoptables' but this talented gang of best friends know that their individuality is what makes them so special - and so determined to stay together.
When a sinister gentleman tries to get them in his clutches, the children make a daring escape across the frozen canals of Amsterdam, embarking on an adventure packed with pirate ships and puppets. But is their real home - and their real family - already closer than they realize?

© Hana Tooke 2020 (P) Penguin Audio 2020

Critics Review

A high-speed, witty, absurd and joyful adventure

Katherine Rundell, author of Rooftoppers and The Explorer

Perfection!

Robin Stevens, author of the bestselling Murder Most Unladylike series

A corker of a story.

Emma Carroll, author of Letters to the Lighthouse

A book to absolutely fall in love with

Cerrie Burnell, author of The Girl With the Shark's Teeth

A compelling, gorgeously-written story about the power of friendship and the true meaning of family. It's a mystery with a hint of magic, featuring characters who feel entirely real ... perfection!

Robin Stevens, author of the bestselling Murder Most Unladylike series

I adored this story from the very first page. Sleek as Amsterdam velvet and full of heart-clutching mysteries, moonlit escapes on frozen canals, puppets with heartbeats and secret messages engraved upon pocket watches. Follow Milou and her adopted family on a glorious adventure as they race through the streets of Amsterdam, determined to fight for their freedom with spectacular wit, dazzling theatrical wonder and huge amount of hope, courage and everlasting friendship. A book to absolutely fall in love with.

Cerrie Burnell, author of The Girl With the Shark's Teeth

A corker of a story. I loved the writing, the setting, the STUPENDOUS action scenes, how well-paced it was, with such drama, revelations, plot twists and the loveliest of final lines... and one of the most satisfying endings I've read in a long while, with the promise of more in the epilogue. Bravo, Hana - what a book!

Emma Carroll, author of Letters to the Lighthouse

This delicious debut had me reading late into the night... Beautiful but accessible writing, thrilling action, a hint of magic and unforgettable characters are delivered with wit, wisdom and heart in an enviably distinct voice. It's a story of unforgettable friendship and what it really means to be a family... I can't wait to see what Tooke does next.

The Bookseller, Children's Book of the Month

Effortlessly merging the gothic and ghastly with the eccentric and absurd, Hana Tooke's mesmerising debut sends a quintet of abandoned orphans off on a caper across nineteenth-century Amsterdam, complete with sinister supervillains, heart-in-mouth cliff-hangers and lashings of evocative period flavour.

Waterstones Blog, 'Best Books to Look Out For in 2020'

While the vivid, Dickensian setting - grim orphanage, icy mists, and shadowy dockyards - and quaint clockwork creations and life-size puppets spin a web of Gothic creepiness, the bonds among this found family of lively orphans add plenty of warmth and light. Unfolding with the clarity of a fairy tale, this sure-footed debut casts a delightfully spooky spell

Kirkus

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