the rose round

This book is narrated by Matthew, the brother of a central character. His sister Caro, has become the cook at an impressive estate in England, called Woodhall. The mistress of Woodhall is a bitter woman, her favorite child, a daughter, having died. She is resentful against her gentle son who has a physical deformity, but a heart to help those in need. Her granddaughter Alix befriends Matthew under her grandmother's disapproval, and sets the catalyst for the entire book of healing and forgiveness. In some ways, the story is reminiscent of Burnett's "The Secret Garden", but there is more intrigue to the plot, no magic, and plenty of Catholic overtones. I enjoyed the story, which never faltered for interest. The themes of compassion and forgiveness add a moral depth to make the reader look into his own heart. I recommend this book with the caveat for non-Catholics that Catholicism is promoted.

One of the worthy reprints of Ignatius Press is "Rose Round," an intricate and atmosphere YA novel that mixes religion, drama, family strife, and romance. Even those who dislike religious novels may want to check this one out.On vacation from school, Matt Randall arrives at the creaky old house called Woodhall, where his sister Caro is the cook. Things are not going well for Matt: Caro is engaged to the flashy rich guy Jasper, who dislikes Matt, and Woodhall is ruled by a tyrannical old woman called only Madame. Because of the untimely death of her idolized daughter and the deformity of her son, Madame has turned against religion, God, and especially against her son, Theo.However, Theo is a gentle and compassionate person who soon befriends Matt, as they are both quiet outsiders with a love of beauty. Matt also gets to know Madame's elfin granddaughter, Alix, who leads him deeper into the decayed gardens of the old house. But conflicts are rising: Madame is growing less tolerant of Theo, when he brings a group of young orphans to the house; and Theo is falling in love with Caro. A near-tragedy is necessary to unstraighten the kinks of the past...Usually religious books have tepid plots, shallow characterization and choke readers on heavy-handed moralizing. This is one of the exceptions. Trevor's writing is delightful, and she displays an excellent knowledge of the human mind and why people do what they do, even if she doesn't agree with their actions. And she never beats readers over the head with the Catholic content; it's there, it's an interwoven thread through the plot that supports many of the characters as they go on.Though Madame is a character who would be easy to make cartoonish, she is instead made a bitter, multilayered person with thoroughly believable reactions. Matt and Alix are great lead characters; Matt is the sort of next-door boy that we can instantly understand, while Alix is a little wilder and odder, but also quite sympathetic. Caro is the only disappointment; she seems to be an essentially generic character, without much personality. Theo makes up for Caro; at first glance he seems like the ordinary "gentle giant," but gradually we see more of the guy underneath.The writing style is excellent, very descriptive and evocative without being too wordy. The dialogue occasionally gets a little stilted, but overcomes that in scenes where the dialogue is entirely believable. The only unbelievable parts are where Theo speaks about Caro; it gets a little sappy there.A delightful read and a great piece of fiction. Definitely worth it.