Castle Tourmandyne

Dave Jenkinson is a professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba and the author of the “Portraits” section of Emergency Librarian.

On her 12th birthday, Marg Pargeter receives an antique cardboard house
that is accompanied by a handwritten warning: “Be careful to make this
house with love.” The toy, however, is assembled in an atmosphere of
anger, for an unwilling Marg is sharing her bedroom over the summer
holidays with her pushy cousin, Peggy, who has been sent to Edmonton by
her globetrotting parents. Feeling deserted and unloved, Peggy is
jealous of Marg’s supportive home life. Marg in turn feels threatened
by her older cousin’s looks and talents. As Peggy selfishly
monopolizes the house’s construction, Marg angrily cuts out the
building’s paper inhabitants, names them, and creates a story about
their relationships; the child figure is an orphan named Celine who
resembles Peggy and is mistreated by her guardians, the evil, greedy
Lady Tourmandyne and her cowardly husband, Sir Basil. The torment Celine
undergoes is reflected in Peggy’s deteriorating emotional state. In
the end, Marg and Peggy join forces to undo the damage caused by their
former animosity.

Middle-school girls, in particular, will enjoy this tightly written
tale. Recommended.