Book: Rooftoppers
Author: Katherine Rundell
Pages: 276
How Long it Took Me To Read: 7 hours
Read On: Paperback
Plot Summary: Everyone thinks that Sophie is an orphan. True, there were no other recorded female survivors from the shipwreck which left baby Sophie floating in the English Channel in a cello case, but Sophie remembers seeing her mother wave for help. Her guardian tells her it is almost impossible that her mother is still alive, but that means still possible. You should never ignore a possible. So when the Welfare Agency writes to her guardian threatening to send Sophie to an orphanage, she takes matters into her own hands and flees to Paris to look for her mother, starting with the only clue she has - the address of the cello maker. Evading the French authorities, she meets Matteo and his network of rooftoppers - urchins who live in the sky. Together they scour the city for Sophie's mother before she is caught and sent back to London, and most importantly before she loses hope.
Things I Liked:
1. I loved Charles, Sophie's guardian, he was eccentric, kind, smart and a loving guardian. The off-beat and quirky parenting style of his was nice to read about. Also, what's not to love about a scholarly, eccentric and dishy (I am guessing) Brit man! :)
2. The thing I loved best about this book was how old-fashioned it seemed to me. It reminded me of the books I read as a child. Full of cleverness, resourcefulness and bravery. I loved it.
3. Paris, in a book or in a movie, Paris is always delightful to visit.
4. I loved the other Rooftoppers we met in this book, especially the sisters who live in the trees were simply delightful.
5. I also liked the little search for Sophie's mother that Charles undertakes and the little investigation that is being done.
6. The writing was lovely too and I highlighted quite a few lines in the this book. I am curious to read more from this author.
Things I Didn't Like:
1. This is certainly a book I would have enjoyed more had I read it as a 10 yr old. I still enjoyed it, but I would have liked it loadsssss more if I read it at the right age.
2. The ending was a bit abrupt for my taste. I wanted more answers and I wanted more time with the mother.
3. Overall, I enjoyed the London bits more than the Paris bits. And Paris was the bigger chunk of the book.
4. Matteo, however was my biggest disappointment in the book. I just didn't like him at all. I found him to be rude, slightly obnoxious and unkind. I didn't understand why Sophie would want to hang out with him?
Rating: 3/5
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