Helpful Score: 8
An absolutely gorgeous story. I first read it when I was ten or so and have had to replace my copy a couple times. It's a bit fairy-taleish in places, but there's room in life for fairy tales.
Helpful Score: 5
I loved this book as a child, the story of the orphan seeking her place in the world, and a little cottage where she can pretend she has a home all her own. I did not realize until recently that the author is "The" Julie Andrews, the Sound of Music actress. A lovely and timeless story for pre-teen girls.
Helpful Score: 4
great read!a story about an orphan girl who creates a beautiful garden as an escape, reminds me of secret garden, but witten by sound of musics julie andrews!!!
Helpful Score: 3
One of my all-time favorite books. Mandy lives in an orphanage and finds a little cottage in the woods. She doesn't know who it belongs to, but she goes back often and makes it a place all her own. But Mandy gets very sick one day in the cottage and wishes she had told someone where she was going...
Ten year old orphan Mandy has lived in the old stone orphanage all her life; she loves the matron and the other orphans, but has felt all her life that something is missing.
One day she climbs over the wall between the orphanage and the woods and discovers a small, abandoned cottage. She decides to take it for her own and sets out to repair it and the garden. She keeps it a secret from the rest of the orphanage the entire time, sometimes being driven to lie and to "borrow" things necessary to keep up her little house. Soon Mandy discovers that she has a secret "Admirer," who leaves her small gifts and notes. It is only the Admirer who knows where to find her one stormy night when she becomes ill and nobody can find her anywhere.
One day she climbs over the wall between the orphanage and the woods and discovers a small, abandoned cottage. She decides to take it for her own and sets out to repair it and the garden. She keeps it a secret from the rest of the orphanage the entire time, sometimes being driven to lie and to "borrow" things necessary to keep up her little house. Soon Mandy discovers that she has a secret "Admirer," who leaves her small gifts and notes. It is only the Admirer who knows where to find her one stormy night when she becomes ill and nobody can find her anywhere.
