Wildthorn

by Jane Eagland

Louisa Cosgrove is a young woman with ideas. Ideas that include wanting to become a doctor and not wanting to ever get married. So, what’s the big deal? Well, Louisa lives in the nineteenth century, I think. I’m not too sure because the author never specifies the date. Nor does she create a truly recognizable setting. Sure, she mentions corsets and carriages, but the language used is definitely not of the period. But I digress!

Louisa’s ideas and attitudes are not embraced by her family, and she winds up in an asylum. She does not know who committed her, how it was arranged, or who may be able to release her. All she knows is that Wildthorn (the asylum) is not a place at which she belongs. She’s perfectly sane, not matter what the doctors say.

But can she escape? This is the most important question for Louisa. Sure, she wants to know who sent her there (and why), but getting out is far more important to the young woman.

A poor sense of time and place and a rather silly plot make for a most mediocre young adult novel. Louisa Cosgrove is a great character, and readers will probably ignore the novel’s glaring faults just so they may learn the fate of our plucky main character.

The best thing about this novel? The cover!

3/6/11