The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place

By: E. L. Konigsburg

Narrated by: Molly Ringwald

E. L. Konigsburg revisits the town of Epiphany to tell the story of Margaret Rose Kane, Connor's older half-sister. It's about the summer when Margaret Rose turned twelve--the same year that Cabbage Patch dolls were popular, that Sally Ride became the first woman to go into space, that El Niño turned the world upside-down. Margaret Rose begins her summer with a miserable experience at camp; from which she's rescued by her beloved, eccentric uncles. Little does she know that her uncles, in turn, need rescuing themselves--from a tyrannical city council determined to tear down her uncles' life work--three spectacularly beautiful towers that her uncles have been building since before Margaret was a baby.

THE OUTCASTS OF 19 SCHUYLER PLACE is a rousing audiobook about intelligence, art, and the fierce preservation of individuality.©2004 E.L. Konigsburg; (P)2004 Random House, Inc. Listening Library, an imprint of the Random House Audio Publishing Group

A good distraction

A good book, nothing stunning. the characters were interesting and well developed. A quick listen

If you are now or have ever been 12 years old

you really need to experience life through the eyes of Margaret Rose. We meet her at summer camp, where "doesn't fit in" is the understatement of the century. We follow her to the home of her eccentric bachelor uncles, where she sets out on a crusade to save what is most precious to her.

"Outcasts" appeals on multiple levels. I look forward to introducing it to my 8th-graders, but I wonder if they are old enough to appreciate it fully. E. L. Konigsburg writes with an ear for the concerns/cares/fears/dreams of the pre-teen and emerging adolescent. Some will suggest that her characters are too precocious, that 12-year-olds don't talk or think like this, but, trust me, I know this child, I've taught her, more than once. And whether children this age talk this way or not, it is how many of them think, and wish they could talk.

Do I need to say I'm giving this one an exuberant thumbs up?