Thornhill

Smy, Pam. Thornhill. 2017. 533p. ISBN 978-1-62672-654-3. Available at FIC SMY on the library shelves.

It is 2016, and Ella and her father just moved to Midchester, in a house abutting the extensive grounds of an abandoned orphanage named Thornhill. Her father works a lot, and Ella often finds herself at home alone. She doesn’t know anyone in town, so she spends a lot of time looking out her window at the ruins that is Thornhill. When she spots a light in the top floor, Ella is curious. Who lives there?

In 1982, Mary is an orphan who lives in Thornhill. Suffering from selective mutism, Mary has no friends and spends most of her time in her top floor bedroom, creating masterful puppets out of fabric and clay. These are her true friends. Unfortunately for Mary, a bully she thought had been adopted for good has been returned to the orphanage for poor behavior. This unnamed bully has been harassing Mary and turning all of the other girls against her. When she was here Mary could not sleep at night and had to watch her every step. Now that she’s returning, Mary confides in her diary that she will never have a moment’s peace.

As Ella investigate the property next door, she finds old broken dolls. She begins fixing them, and eventually she meets Mary. Then Ella discovers that Mary died at Thornhill back in 1982. Mary, meanwhile, tries to deal with her bully but the conditions at the orphanage grow worse as kids are adopted out and the facility readies for closing. When Mary discovers that she and her bully will become roommates in a new institution, it is the straw that breaks the camel’s back. She needs to take matters into her own hands. Will present-day Ella assuages past Mary’s ghost and become her friend?

Mary’s perspective is told through a diary, while Ella’s view is presented through images only. The two stories combine in a beautifully written sad tale of bullying and its consequences.