The Unadoptables

What a fantastic first novel by this author. The setting is unusual, but we get a real sense of 19th century Holland. The five central characters are beautifully constructed and have us cheering them on. The villains are very dark and you hope they get their just desserts. There is plenty of mystery and adventure and each of the children has to use their individual talents to help save them all. A brilliant read.

Oh my heart! 💔 I'm not sure I have the words for this beautiful, gut-wrenching but gripping tale, exquisitely told by Hana Took. It is a future classic - a tale of hope, sorrow and joy that will evoke flowing tears, a fierce attachment to characters that you just want to bring home and a roiling hatred for villains so vile, you'll want to finish them off yourself.

Welcome to 'Little Tulips' - the bleakest orphanage in the city of Amsterdam- where in 1880, five babies were abandoned in the most unusual manner. Here starts the journey of Milou, Sem, Egg, Lotta and Fenna - the 'unadoptables' unable to find a home.

When cruel matron, Gassbeck, decides to sell the orphans off to sinister sailor, Rotman, the five inseparables have no choice but to run for their lives, to the outskirts of the city where Milou believes her real family awaits her. Following the clues from her past, she leads them to an abandoned windmill where a puppet-maker once lived. Convinced that the windmill holds the key to her identity, Milou convinces the others to stay and forge a home. But, curious eyes are watching, Rotman is lurking and the Kinderbureau are smelling a rat. Will Milou ever uncover who her true family are and find her happy end?

Although predominantly Milou's story, this book would be nothing without the unity of five adorables who you will want to adopt by the end of chapter one. Bursting with heart and soul, this book weaves a tale of gothic intrigue - puppets, nightmares and clock-makers- with the cruel reality of life as destitute orphans. Milou's flawed but desperate tenacity will gouge claw-marks into your heart and the orphans' unbreakable bond is beyond endearing. Gassbeck and Rotman are villains to rival Cruella de Vil and Fagin and the role of the puppets is truly captivating.

Not all the adults are rotters, however. Edda the curious clock-maker, although somewhat unfathomable, brings a sense of stability and safety to the story and plays a key role in the ending. As far as endings go, this one will not disappoint. It keeps you guessing until the end and is one of the most satisfying and moving conclusions that I have read.

For me, this novel, although fresh and original, had echoes of 'The Sound of Music', 'Oliver Twist' and 'A Little Princess.' The storytelling felt traditional, the setting was gritty and the plot intoxicating. It is a love story, a gothic nightmare and a tale of friendship, the tendrils of which will entwine around every heartstring you own and stay there.

OH MY GOUDA. This book, guys. I’ve already gushed about in on twitter, so sorry if you’ve already seen this before, but I need to talk about this book. THE UNADOPTABLES tells the story of five orphans in 19th century Amsterdam who are thrown into an adventure when they are forced to escape their orphanage one night. I visited Amsterdam a few years ago, and fell in love with it, so reading a novel set there was just fantastic. Hana captures the feel and essence of this magical city with ease, transporting the reader not only geographically but also back time. The world-building was complex and multi-layered, and partly because of this I sunk completely into the story.

This neatly moves us on to the next point of my gush-fest: the plot. It was compelling and twisty-turny and pace-y and unputdownable. Basically, it was a fantastic story. ALSO, there was a fortune teller. On to our main characters: we have five of them, which was daunting (I have a hard time keeping up when there are lots of characters). However, each of the unadaptable orphans were so different from each other, and they were complex and 3D people, so it was very easy to keep track of who was speaking and to whom. I also adored the diversity of the MC’s–we have a person of colour, a disabled character, and a character with selective mutism.

FINALLY, Hana’s writing was exquisite. This was one of those stories where certain sentences and turns of phrase made me OOH and AHH with appreciation (and a little bit of writerly jealously). This has been one of my favourite reads of 2020 so far; it is most definitely a classic in the making, and you need to read it when it comes out in July. I have pre-ordered, and I will definitely be re-reading it in the near future.

So I have to get this off my chest first and foremost ... I freaking loved this book!! Without a doubt is the best book I've read this year so far. I will definitely by buying a hard copy as I had a kindle version.


This is the story of Lotta, Egg, Milou, Fenna and Sem, The Unadoptables. So called as they weren't left for adoption in the 'normal' way. They landed at the Little Tulip Orphanage under the watchful eye of the matron, Elinor Gasbeek. She is quite a tyrant and particularly loathes these 5. Desperate times call for desperate measures and she agrees to sell the children to a Scrooge-like character in order to cook the books and make it look like she is able to re-home all her little adoptees.


I say Scrooge like but he more reminded me of Fagin I think. I just pictured Fagin's picture each time he appeared in the book. Adventures start when the children realise all is not as it seems and make their bid to escape.


Each child has their own backstory and each is just as heartwarming as the other. I felt an instant affinity with the children, almost understanding their turmoils and began willing them to make the right choices. I loved the fact that they all had a different talent which enabled them as a group to be self sufficient.


The main part of the book follows Milou and her quest to find her parents. She keeps a notebook in which she writes all her theories and clues she uncovers along the way as she desperately tries to not only find her family but also establish why she was left at the orphanage in the first place. She feels there must be a reason which would explain in a positive way as she can't believe that her parents would do such a thing unless something terrible had happened.


There are laughs and adventures along the way. Set in Amsterdam, homage is played to the frozen canals and ice skating, tulips, windmills and bicycles. All those things synonymous with Holland.


The writing is lovely and flows at a quick pace. The adventures are well written and I found myself quickly turning pages, longing to find out what happens next.


I thought this was an adorable book and one that would be suitable in an upper key stage 2 classroom, so maybe for children from about 9 onwards. I would have liked to have read it to my class (year 3) but I wasn't sure they would understand some of the underlying themes.


This book is about life, love, the past, the future and the journey between.


I will easily rate this book 5 stars.

The opening chapters of The Unadoptables is written in the style of Lemony Snickets. It draws you into this unique story, which follows the orphans Milou, Sem, Lotta, Egg and Fenna who were all left at the Little Tulip Orphanage in strange and unusual ways.

Even though they have been described as ‘unadoptable’ the matron Miss Gassbeck because they do not look cute with freckles and pleasant features, each of the children have their own set of special skills that helps them on their adventures. Milou is an amazing story-teller, Sem is brilliant at sewing, Lotta has a fantastic grasp of science, Egg is an expert cartographer and Fenna has a lovely touching way with animals. Hana Tooke creates believable and realistic characters who pull on your heart-strings and carry you away on their epic journey.

Milou believes her parents will return to the orphanage to claim her. Milou finds a beautiful pocket watch hidden inside the cat puppet that was left on the orphanage roof with her. The watch contains coordinates so when they discover Miss Gassbeck, plans to sell all five ‘unadoptables’ to the disreputable Mr R they decide to run away from the orphanage and go to the mysterious coordinates in the hope it may lead them to the truth of who Milou’s parents are and why she was left on the roof of the orphange.

Set in and around Amsterdam during 1886, the five brave and determined children set off through 19th century Amsterdam on an adventure packed with puppets, clock-makers, cruel villains and pirate ships. On the way they discover what it means to have a real home with a real family. There are underlying themes of love, truth and identity.

This is the ideal book for a child to read alone or to listen to in the book corner at story time. The ideal book for any book corner.