Guillermo Del Toro once mentioned in an interview that darkness in children's films is necessary. Darkness addresses various neurosis and impulses that exist in the human condition and bypassing these truths does a disservice to children and how they deal with fear. Of course, I am paraphrasing big time, but that is the basic idea. Growing up in the 1980's and the early 1990's, my children's entertainment was far darker than it is today. For instance, I scoffed when people claimed that Pixar's "Brave" was too scary for children under the age of 12. Are they kidding? Do they know that when I was a child, I watched Atreyu brutally kill Gmork in the Neverending Story? I seem to remember some terrifying scenes in the film adaptions of "The Secret of Nymh" and "The Last Unicorn." I am not going to even begin to discuss most episodes of "Are you Afraid of the Dark." What does this all have to do with "The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls"? This book is quite scary. It is also brilliant.
Basically, the story centers around Victoria, a perfect specimen of a child if she does say so herself. She is top of her class, loved by her teachers and always presentable. She doesn't have much need for friends, but she has found herself a project in classmate, Lawrence. Lawrence is an odd child with a streak of grey running through his unkempt hair. He is a musical prodigy, but always humming, a habit Victoria finds quite annoying. She has made it her goal to whip Lawrence into shape. This all comes to a head one strange day when some unraveling at school leads her to denounce Lawrence. Then he disappears.
All of the adults, including Lawrence's parents claim that he has gone upstate, but there is something cruel in these proclamations and Victoria decides she will get to the bottom of it. A decision that leads her to the doorway of The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls, a mysterious orphanage run by Miss Cavendish herself and her "project" Mr. Alice. Within this house leads Victoria on a terrible journey which is reminiscent of "Coraline" and slightly fable like in quality.
In essence this is a very Victorian story. It is a cautionary tale. It is cautionary of cold Victorian values and has a heroine (albeit, a slightly annoying one) named Victoria. Miss Cavendish takes "difficult" children and strives to straighten them out. Some of her victims are Lawrence, who's odd humming and passion for music has begun of annoy his parents (children should be seen and not heard) and Jacqueline, the unkempt sister of Victoria's rival who's art work uses motifs of death and darkness. Then there is Victoria herself, who's crime may be her own perfection. If a child is straightened out by age 13 they are sent back to their home, but they are "changed" into a pale imitation of the person they once were.
Let it be known, there are some frightening elements of this book. It is very surreal and the implications of the horrors of the Cavendish home may not be suitable for younger or more sensitive readers. One example is the origin of the mysterious Cavendish casserole and her monstrous servants, the Gofers. I won't spoil it for anyone, but let's just say it is tied to fate of the children who do not make it to leave after their 13th birthday. Some of the scenes are also somewhat heartbreaking, but through Victoria's eyes we see something else. The caution against "too perfect". Miss Cavendish sees similarities between she and Victoria. Victoria too notices this and is horrified at the implications.
The descriptive language is also quite beautiful, and while scary this book holds a lot of emotional value. Perhaps this is part of what Del Toro was talking about. In a world where competition to be "the best" and "elite" is pushed on some children from a very young age, this story strikes a chord.
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