The Warden's Daughter

Starred review from November 14, 2016
In this poignant coming-of-age story, Newbery Medalist Spinelli invites readers to revisit Two Mills, Pa. (last seen in Maniac Magee), during the 1950s to meet the 12-year-old daughter of a prison warden. When Cammie was a baby, her mother saved her life and was killed in the process. Still feeling her mother’s absence, Cammie lives a lonely existence with her father above the town prison. During the summer, she fills the hours by visiting the women inmates, playing records with her 12-going-on-17 best friend, and trying to turn her caregiver, Eloda Pupko, into a replacement mother. But Cammie’s failing schemes, coupled with another painful loss, cause her to lash out at everyone in her path. Spinelli again shows his mastery at evoking a particular time and place while delving into the heart of a troubled adolescent, creating an evocative backdrop through the sounds of early rock and roll, the smell of frying scrapple, and the sights of children freely roaming their neighborhoods. Like Cammie’s quietly wise housekeeper, readers will understand Cammie’s frustrations and cheer her on as she confronts her deepest emotions. Ages 9–12.

Narrator Carrington MacDuffie portrays 12-year-old Cammie, a tomboy, with a youthful voice. Her story takes place during the summer of 1959 at the prison where her father works. MacDuffie perfectly captures the grief and anger Cammie feels after her mother's death. To fill the emptiness, she decides that Eloda, a prisoner who works as her family's housekeeper, will be her mother figure. But Eloda is to be released soon. MacDuffie portrays Eloda in a stern yet compassionate voice that reflects her nurturing but distant nature. Listeners will be captivated with the story's historical details, including depictions of the TV show "American Bandstand" and the intricacies of the prison life, as well as the overarching story of Cammie as she comes to understand herself. M.D. � AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine

June 5, 2017
The latest from Newbery medalist Spinelli is a coming-of-age story set in Two Mills, Pa. The story opens with the protagonist Cammie O’Reilly, an elderly grandmother, remembering the summer of 1959, when she was 12 and lived with her father in a house adjacent to the Hancock County Prison, where he was the prison warden. The summer was emotionally treacherous for young Cammie, who was just coming to terms with her mother’s death. She spent the dog days inside the prison gates passing the time with the women inmates. Actor MacDuffie performs the first-person retrospective narrative in a soothing but straightforward manner, letting Spinelli’s masterful prose take center stage. When the story takes a tragic turn, MacDuffie adds due emotion to her otherwise calm reading, which makes for a powerful ending. Ages 9–12. A Knopf hardcover.