The Love Curse of the Rumbaughs
On an unseasonably warm Easter Sunday, a young girl namedIvy discovers a chilling secret in the basement of the Rumbaughpharmacy across the street from the hotel where she lives withher mother. The discovery reveals a disturbing side to theeccentric lives of family friends Abner and Adolph...
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On an unseasonably warm Easter Sunday, a young girl namedIvy discovers a chilling secret in the basement of the Rumbaughpharmacy across the street from the hotel where she lives withher mother. The discovery reveals a disturbing side to theeccentric lives of family friends Abner and Adolph Rumbaugh,known throughout their small western Pennsylvania townsimply as the Twins. It seems that Ab and Dolph have beencompelled by a powerful mutual love for their deceased motherto do something extraordinary, something that in its owntwisted way bridges the gap between the living and the dead.Immediately, Ivy's discovery provokes the revelation of aRumbaugh family curse, a curse that, as Ivy will learn over thecoming years, holds a strange power over herself and her ownmother.In his third book for young adults, Jack Gantos has scripted acompletely original drama. With gothic flavor and black humor,he depicts a group of people bound together by love,compulsion . . . and a passion for taxidermy.
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Format: hardcover
ISBN:
9780374336905 (0374336903)
Publish date: April 18th 2006
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Pages no: 192
Edition language: English
Category:
Fantasy,
Young Adult,
Childrens,
Teen,
Adult,
Middle Grade,
Mystery,
Family,
Horror,
Death,
Gothic
This was NOTHING like I thought it would be from the synopsis. This book was just too bizarre. I'm not even sure what the purpose of the book was supposed to be. I am all for dark books, but gross! Fortunately it was a short listen.
The love curse of the title is an obsessive mother-love that leaves Oedipus in the dust. A truly bizarre book, and one that is very difficult to rate. It is indeed very well-written, and it surely succeeds at what it attempts to do. I certainly couldn't put it down. But is it enjoyable? It's dark, v...
Not a fan. Strange story. Too Gothick for my tastes. (June 2008)