Because of the Night by Rue L'Hommedieu is an amusing and inspiring family story. It unravels one night as ten-year-old Vicky, also known as Icky, and her twin brother Christopher engage in their usual fight. The battle is over when their father, disturbed by the ruckus, comes out of his room enraged. Their mother comes up the stairs and orders Christopher to bed, and Vicky is left alone to face her parents' familiar anger. Facing a match she knows she can't win, Vicky decides she must be in the wrong family. That night, she gathers her pillow and doll case and leaves the house to find her true family. After knocking on some of her neighbors' homes and asking to be adopted, she is unsuccessful. Not willing to give up easily, she's surprised to find herself in a magical boat where she meets a mysterious Old Lady. Can the Old Lady help Vicky find her true family?

Rue L'Hommedieu's Because of the Night is a must-read for children and young adults who wish they belonged to another family rather than their own. The plot is straightforward and narrated from a child's point of view, and her innocence is endearing. The author reminds readers how to think and act like a child again to reclaim their innocence. As we follow the impulsive and unpredictable Vicky in her quest to find her true family, we learn important lessons along the way. The element of mystery makes the story more interesting. This is a novel that you can read to children so that they will think twice about leaving home because, despite differences, their family is the one where they truly belong!

After one last fight that breaks the camel's back, Icky finally loses patience with her genius baby brother who seems to enjoy using his talent to torment her instead of doing something worthwhile with it. Her mother is not much better and often shows a complete lack of interest in her welfare, which only serves to add to her frustration. Icky comes up with the unusual idea of getting herself a brand new family, as there must have been a mistake at the baby allocation factory when her name came up on the roll. As she begins her hunt, she bumps into a mysterious old lady who makes her an offer: find herself a perfect family that night or get a random new one by dawn. Will she succeed or will the old lady have her way? Find out more in Because of the Night by Rue L'Hommedieu.

Because of the Night is an entertaining children's story by Rue L'Hommedieu. The storyline is hilarious in itself, despite its Scrooge-like comparison and sometimes weird humor. The primary character, Icky, comes across as far more intelligent than she lets on and her interesting and continual monologues only serve to entrench this notion. The secondary characters in the book are fleshed out well enough to allow for some thought-provoking reading and the banter in the story, though sparse, is quite deep. I prefer to put this down to L'Hommedieu's approach to storytelling which appears as if the aim is to keep it as simple as possible. The book makes for some interesting reading despite its simplistic feel.