Very Rich

August 15, 2018
Rupert Brown discovers a family as odd as his own--but in which food, clothing, warmth, and money are abundant and barely noticed.Ten-year-old Rupert's family is so large that his mother claims she can't remember all the children's names. Food is scarce, and the older children must sleep under the beds for lack of room. Quiet, shy Rupert is sweetly earnest as he tries to stay optimistic. By chance, Rupert finds himself inside the mansion of the richest family in his town of Steelville, Ohio, on Christmas Day, "full to the top" with food. Following a bewildering series of family games, he's the winner of a pile of amazing presents, and it is nearly more than he can bear to lose all his prizes at the last moment. The members of the eccentric Rivers family are casually generous yet callously unaware of Rupert's dire circumstances as he returns home in the cold and snow. In the weeks that follow, and one after another, Mrs. Rivers, Uncle Henry, Uncle Moffat, and Aunt Hazelnut each reach out to offer Rupert a share in their own magical and slightly weird adventures. The result is enriching indeed, though Rupert's constant hunger as food is promised and then whisked away is both palpable to readers and emblematic of this Dahl-esque gulf between classes. All the characters are assumed to be the default white. Horvath is at her odd, arch best here--generous with her wry observations of people and their awkward relationships and foibles. (Fiction. 9-12)

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September 24, 2018
Trekking to school only to realize it’s Christmas Day, 10-year-old Rupert Brown, part of a large and impoverished family, finds himself in the “very rich” part of Steeleville, Ohio. After Rupert faints on the lawn of Turgid Rivers, “the richest boy at school,” he spends the day with the eccentric Rivers family as they indulge in extravagant meals and engage in a series of competitive games. His pile of prizes growing, Rupert fantasizes about bringing his winnings back to his family, only to have those hopes dashed as he loses it all. After Rupert’s loss and return to his routine of hunger and sibling hordes, members of the Rivers family seek him out to embark on adventures, including a secret restaurant takeover that leaves customers literally floating with happiness, a trip back in time, and a bungled jewel heist. Rupert’s hijinks with the various Rivers prove enlightening, imparting that, no matter one’s provenance, life is “a unique and glorious thing.” Packed with outrageous characters and moments of brilliant clarity, Horvath’s holiday romp touches on thankfulness and the importance of self-acceptance. Ages 8–12.

January 1, 2019
Exceedingly well-mannered and excruciatingly poor ten-year-old Rupert Brown stumbles upon his rich classmate's Christmas celebration. After Rupert leaves still empty-stomached and empty-handed, guilt-ridden members of the wealthy family attempt to make amends. Their misguided efforts include a silk suit; a visit to a fancy restaurant; and excursions via a cardboard-box time machine. With hints of Dickens, Dahl, Travers, and others, Horvath's latest is brainy, hilarious, and poignant.

(Copyright 2019 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

January 1, 2019
Horvath's latest wry and thought-provoking, hilarious and poignant middle-grade novel (most recently The Night Garden, rev. 9/17) features Rupert Brown, an exceedingly well-mannered and excruciatingly poor ten-year-old from a large, unruly family. One frigid Christmas Day, the coatless and starving child stumbles upon the holiday celebration of his rich classmate Turgid Rivers's family, where ample food, games, and presents leave him stupefied. After circumstances cause Rupert to leave the Riverses' mansion as empty-stomached and empty-handed as he was when he arrived, the guilt-ridden members of the wealthy family attempt to make amends. Their misguided efforts include a bespoke silk suit; a dreamlike visit to a fancy restaurant; and excursions via a grubby cardboard-box time machine that take Rupert to the past (where he sees his young parents) and to a messing-with-your-mind future (where someone intones: I accept that the leader of the free world has somehow been youthened ). With hints of Dickens (Tiny Tim!), Roald Dahl (hapless adults!), P. L. Travers (magical floating!), and others, this is a brainy, unusual, and entertaining confection. monica Edinger

(Copyright 2019 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)