The Tiny Mansion

by Keir Graff

Twelve-year-old Dagmar must endure a summer living off-the-grid with her family in a tiny home.

Dagmar's summer is off to a terrible start. After a business deal gone bad, her family faces eviction from their Oakland apartment, and she's forced to move with her dad, her stepmom, and her annoying five-year-old half brother into a tiny house, which they park among the towering redwoods of Northern California.

As Dagmar explores the woods around her new, (hopefully) temporary home, she discovers they are living next door to an eccentric tech billionaire, who lives in a smart home that looks like an alien spaceship, and his very unusual family. There's the woodsman who sets homemade booby traps all over the forest, and the New Age hippie who meditates to whale songs in an isolation tank. And then there's the billionaire's son, Blake, who has everything he could ever wish for--except maybe a friend.

Genres: Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction, Childrens, Friendship, Family, Audiobook, Fiction

288 pages, Hardcover

First published September 8, 2020

About the author

Keir Graff is the author of One Nation, Under God, My Fellow Americans, and, writing as Michael McCulloch, Cold Lessons. His short stories have appeared in a wide variety of publications. He lives in Chicago."

Reviews

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes the story was slow, but otherwise the story is great and I had lots of fun reading it

[Stephanie Tournas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dagmar is stuck in a tiny house in the middle of the forest with her dad, step-mom, and five year old step brother. A deal fell through, and her family is completely broke. She misses her friends in Oakland, as well as running water and electricity. When she encounters a fence in the forest with the sign: “No Trespassing, Keep Out, Danger, This Means You!!!” she takes it as a challenge and a way to stave off boredom. She meets a kid named Blake, who lives with his billionaire father and mother in a mansion in the woods. He lacks social skills, but both he and Dagmar can use a friend, so they hang out. She learns of the complete disfunction of Blake’s family, which she finds mind-boggling. When wild fires threaten both families’ homes, the question is whether they can put aside their feuding to help one another survive.

Dagmar is a sophisticated, self-aware and funny character, and she narrates the story with deadpan humor. Her artsy hippie dad is a great character, and Blake’s family are pretty extreme entitled rich people. It was fun to see her navigate the two realities. She also is pretty funny in her annoyance with her five year old half brother. The story moves quickly, and is hard to put down. The ideas of money and work and personal satisfaction come to play as Dagmar reflects on the adults in the two families.

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was expecting something a bit different with this one. I thought there would be more commentary on Dagmar's feelings about being evicted and not having a permanent home. I felt that the juxtaposition between her and Blake in terms of wealth could have been explored more, however, it was pretty superficial. I found Dagmar's relationship with her parents interesting and also expected that to be explored as well. I suppose I was wanting more depth from the story but maybe that wasn't the goal. Overall, it seems to be more of an adventure story. Although I personally didn't like or connect with any of the characters, I believe children looking for something exciting and adventurous may enjoy it.

"A local rancher had taken the cows until their owner could be found. I never saw them again, although it's entirely possible I encountered them in the form of a delicious carne asada burrito."

I'm not sure if it's just me but that comment felt quite unnecessary.

[Yapha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dagmar is super frustrated with her entire family -- her mother who is in Dubai on business, her 5 year old half brother who follows her everywhere, her crunchy stepmother, and especially her father whose money mismanagement has landed them squatting in a tiny house in the middle of the redwoods without electricity, cell service, or running water. She sets about to sabotage as much as she can, in the hope that they will be able to move back to Oakland. Her summer starts looking up when she meets Blake, the son of an eccentric tech billionaire, who lives nearby in a futuristic house He has his own family problems as well. When they are both caught up in a natural disaster, they and their families learn about what is truly important. Recommended for grades 4 & up.

[LS Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this more, but like other books written by Graff I felt some chapters were so frenetic and went on and on. I found myself skimming through a few of those. And some things (pee in the pool and reflections on eating rescued cows) seemed really unnecessary. But maybe that’s what appeals to kids.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is mostly an adventure story, without much depth.

[Denise Marinus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dit fantastische boek gaat over weinig hebben — en heel veel. Over angst — en natuurlijk over moed. En bovenal over familie, en wat dat dan betekent. Het heeft mijn verwachtingen in meerdere opzichten overtroffen. Het vuurhuisje van Keir Graff trok met zijn interessante plot al mijn aandacht (want hoe kom je nu op het idee van een mini-huisje als onderwerp van je verhaal?), maar het was nog veel beter dan verwacht. Een hartverwarmend verhaal over verlies, dankbaarheid en vriendschap, gebracht op een meeslepende vertelwijze mét de nodige humor.

Als Dagmars vader een belangrijke samenwerking misloopt, dreigen de schulden hem boven het hoofd te stijgen. Hij, zijn nieuwe vrouw Leya, Dagmars vervelende halfbroertje Santi en Dagmar zelf, vertrekken daarop naar een groot bos, in het noorden van Californië. Hier nemen ze hun intrek in een mini-huisje.

Dagmar mist haar vriendinnen van school, ergert zich aan het gebrek aan ruimte en privacy in het mini-huisje en uit haar verveling door de plannen van haar vader en Leya te saboteren en door op onderzoek uit te gaan in het bos. Daar blijken wonder boven wonder meer spannende dingen te zijn dan alleen bomen: namelijk een reusachtige, high-tech villa van een rijke miljonairsfamilie, een gebied vol boobytraps, de woning van de verbitterde broer van die miljonair, en het zweverige onderkomen vol dieren, walvisliederen en lichtjes van hun excentrieke zus.

Tijdens een van haar zoektochten ontmoet Dagmar tot slot Blake: een omhooggevallen ventje dat alles heeft wat zijn hart begeert, maar duidelijk niet begrijpt hoe hij een vriendschap moet sluiten. Toch moeten hij en Dagmar, en hun beide families, samenwerken als er plots een grote bosbrand uitbreekt. En als alles wat elk van hen heeft geprobeerd op te bouwen, in één tel dreigt te worden weggevaagd.

Ik heb enorm van dit boek genoten! Ja, ik had verwacht dat het een leuk verhaal zou zijn, maar het was veel meer dan dat. Het verhaal zat vol onderliggende, prikkelende thema’s, de personages waren stuk voor stuk uniek met hun eigen interessante, en soms bizarre eigenschappen, en het moment waarop de brand uitbreekt grijpt de spanning je bij de keel. Gaan ze het allemaal overleven? En wat blijft er uiteindelijk nog over?

Graff heeft een heerlijke, vlotte schrijfstijl. Je vliegt zo door de hoofdstukken heen. Ik heb vooral bewondering voor die kleine details die hij overal aan toevoegt: het brengt de personages tot leven en maakt elke scène uniek. Neem bijvoorbeeld hoofdpersoon Dagmar met haar grappige behoefte om moeilijke woorden te gebruiken en te verklaren of vader Trent die zijn dochter geen straf durft te geven. Of moeder Leya met haar bizarre, niks opleverende kunstprojecten en de verwaande Blake die altijd in het gezelschap van zijn twee reusachtige honden verkeert. En o, natuurlijk Vladimir: Blakes reus van een bodyguard. Hij ziet er misschien gevaarlijk uit en kan niet al te best praten, maar hij bezit over een hart van goud. Vladimir vond ik absoluut het allerbeste personage uit Het vuurhuisje.

Het vuurhuisje is niet alleen een leuk verhaal vol met spanning, maar ook een verhaal dat ons bewust maakt van wat ons gedrag voor uitwerking heeft op anderen en op de wereld. Het gaat over weinig hebben en over álles hebben. De uitbraak van de bosbrand is het moment waarop je, na alle voorgaande, ‘onschuldige’ gebeurtenissen, gaat nadenken: hoe heeft het zover kunnen komen? En belangrijker: wat is de impact die wij hebben op onze omgeving, de natuur, de mensen om ons heen? Is die ene ruzie of het streven naar rijkdom echt zo belangrijk, terwijl een onvoorziene ramp je ineens alles kan afnemen?

Maar wees niet bang: het boek is niet te zwaar. Er zit een heerlijke dosis humor in verwerkt en de personages zul je stuk voor stuk in je hart sluiten. Een boek voor kinderen vanaf ongeveer 10 jaar, maar eigenlijk voor ons allemaal.

[Maia Zade · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, what can I say: I immediately decided to read this book once I saw the tiny house on the cover. It turns out the story only barely touches on how a tween experiences tiny house life as a consequence of divorce and her family's financial hardship (as I had expected from the blurb). Instead, this book reads like a child's sugar-high fever dream, where disruptive and destructive shenanigans in public spaces have no consequences, all the adults in their lives are bumbling idiots or completely clueless to what the kids are up to, and the twelve-year-old protagonist trumps everyone around her with her perfectly-timed conniving and problem solving.

Here's a rundown of the plot: Twelve-year-old Dagmar and her family (dad, stepmom, and half-bro) are forced to move into a tiny house her father built for a client that failed to sell. The father decides they'll use the time living off-grid to recoup and get back on their feet after their financial struggles. Dagmar resents this and tries to sabotage life in the tiny house so her parents will have to take her back home, where all her friends are: she pulls a spark plug out of the generator so they won't have electricity, she tampers with their food (putting dirt in the granola, pouring vinegar in the milk), she intentionally under-waters the plants in their garden, etc. As she's doing all this, she's also wandering around the forest where the tiny house is parked, and she meets a kid her age, Blake, who turns out to be the son of a famous billionaire, whose mansion is also in the woods. Blake and Dagmar start hanging out, cue the bored rich kid hijinks, yadda yadda, also billionaire's siblings are in a feud because Mr. Rich cut them out of the fortune they had a claim to, etc., the forest catches fire and everyone has to band together, even rich billionaire and his disgruntled siblings, to literally outrun the flames. Happily ever after, the end.

Blake was a spoiled little brat who thought playing hide-and-seek/chase with his personal bodyguard (yeah, this little fucker was that rich) in a public mall was a good time. And of course there were no consequences for that. They outran the mall cops, no real cops were called, everyone got away just in the nick of time! No parents were called, no one got in trouble! Dagmar was also a little brat if we're being honest. Why she thought it was okay to make life harder for her parents just 'cause she's a butthurt angsty little tween was beyond me. (I get it. ANGST. But still.) The billionaire was a pathetic man, a fact made obvious as soon as the electricity went out and he was incapable of doing anything since his smart home was down. The billionaire's siblings were caricatures of crazy, especially the brother who laid dozens of traps in the woods, some of which could have straight up killed somebody. (Well, okay, the sister was portrayed like a wild hippie type, but I loved that she had a menagerie of animals and a quaint cottage.) The parents were utterly clueless, which was a perfect plot device for our child protagonist to be able to do whatever, whenever! Also, all the adults were dumb, petty, and childish, and Dagmar was the genius that solved all the problems and saved the day! *sigh* I guess I'm judging it as if it were meant to be at all realistic, and that is obviously not the case.

I give it 2.5 stars rounded up because it was entertaining, even if it made no sense, was heavily contrived, and appealed only to a chaotic child's sensibilities.

[Maaike de Vries · Rating 5 out of 5]

Het vuurhuisje - Keir Graff
Stel je een minihuisje op wielen voor waar de vlammen uit het dak slaan, volgepropt met 2 broers en een zus die ruzie maken, een kok, een bewaker, een stiefmoeder, een vervelend broertje en een heleboel dieren; terwijl het, omringd door een kudde op hol geslagen koeien met een noodgang een brandend bos uit wordt gereden door een pick-up truck. Zie je het voor je??

Dit is het slotstuk van het hilarische en enorm spannende nieuwe boek van Keir Graff (bekend van De spooktoren en Het luciferkasteel), dat zich afspeelt in de bossen van Californië, waar helaas ook in het echt soms enorme bosbranden ontstaan.

Hoe komen al die mensen in dat kleine huisje, vraag je je af. Tja, het is een maffe samenloop van omstandigheden die begint op de dag dat de vader van hoofdpersoon Dagmar te horen krijgt dat de kopers van zijn eigenhandig gebouwde Tiny House de aankoop terugtrekken. Ze besluiten er met hun samengestelde gezin (met stiefmoeder en halfbroertje) zelf in te gaan wonen (oké, ze zijn ook failliet dus een andere keuze is er niet).

Daar is Dagmar niet blij mee! Ze moet afscheid nemen van haar oude leventje en van haar vrienden; ze zetten hun Tiny House op een verlaten stuk bos waar niets te beleven is.

...denkt Dagmar. Totdat ze op onderzoek uit gaat en een vreemd huis ontdekt en een nog vreemdere jongen, Blake. Bij gebrek aan andere afleiding zoekt ze contact met hem en ontdekt de familiegeheimen van zijn steenrijke ouders, oom en tante. Geld maakt niet gelukkig: dat kunnen we wel leren van dit verhaal - sterker nog: je kunt er knallende ruzie over krijgen.

Ik ben fan van deze schrijver na het lezen van dit boek en ben dan ook benieuwd naar zijn andere boeken. Het leest als een trein en zit vol woordgrappen (hulde aan vertaler Annemarie de Vries). Ik denk dat lezers vanaf een jaar of 10 hiervan zullen smullen. Lezers die ook houden van bijvoorbeeld Keverjongen (M.G. Leonard), de serie Costa Banana (Jozua Douglas) en de boeken van David Walliams. Ook heerlijk om voor te lezen in de klas!

#deleukstekinderboeken #hetvuurhuisje #keirgraff #vanholkemaenwarendorf #bosbrand #californië

[Kim Tyo-Dickerson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Living off the grid in a redwood forest in a tiny house with her dad, stepmom and five year-old brother, Dagmar has had enough. She sets out to sabotage her family's decision to leave their old neighborhood in Oakland and all of Dagmar's friends, and then spends the rest of her days fighting off her rage and boredom exploring the forest surrounding their campsite. Almost immediately she stumbles into multiple "no trespassing" signs (which she promptly ignores), literal booby traps in the undergrowth, high-security gates surrounding a glass and steel, fully wired smart house, and two huge mastiffs and their owner, a snarky boy named Blake Berthold, son of the smart home billionaire Reynold Berthold. The Berthold family inherited a huge piece of old growth forest where not only Blake's family built a house, but also Blake's uncle and aunt who built eccentric houses of their own, all the while fighting Blake's dad for shares in the company that they helped him build. Competitive shenanigans ensue at a pell-mell pace as Dagmar and Blake size each other up as friends, including a hilarious mall chase where they try to escape/thwart Blake's manny/bodyguard Vladimir, while the hot summer edges towards wildfire season. The cluster of wildly unique homes are thrown into turmoil when smoke fills the air. How does a fully automated smart house fare in a wildfire when the electricity goes out and the generators fail? It's the tiny house to the rescue in this fun romp that is perfect for fans of Gordan Korman, particularly his off the grid summer camp adventure Unplugged.

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of a young girl living with her father and his wife and her son in a tiny home in the middle of a redwood forest feels just right. Divorced family with mother who travels the world for work and father who struggles to keep work. Daughter is so very angry that they lost their apartment and are living essentially off the grid (there is no cell service) leaves room for family dynamics as Dagmar finds ways to push back against her father's decisions. She explores a lot and finds an area that is fenced off. Of course she climbs the fence. Dagmar meets the son of an extremely wealthy tech entrepreneur. Blake and Dagmar hit it off through their own personal skill testing of one another. Neither likes to lose a bet. Just when it is becoming a bit boring to witness their escapades, there is a forest fire. Dagmar and Blake are well-suited to jump in and help due to knowing their own strengths in this forest and following their heart despite obstacles. The final adventure is one to wait for as it will keep you on the edge of your seat even with moments of laughter along the treacherous path of this fire!

Just fun!

[Rapier Reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the third book by this author that I’ve read aloud to my son. We didn’t enjoy this one as much as the others and it had a slow start. I wasn’t a fan of the parents in this book either. They were all incompetent. As a side hustle, the dad steals people’s junk—called “unobtainium” in this book. And none of the parents in this book actually parent their kids. Even my son immediately recognized that they were all bad parents. As a result the kids were naturally not respectful of adults. All in all, it was a great example of how not to behave (adults and kids alike). I give it 2 1/2 stars. My son gave it 3 1/2.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

When your family moves into a tiny house and relocates to a redwood forest inhabited by a filthy rich feuding family you will need to keep our wits and courage about you to survive BIG DOGS, A SOURPUSS OF A FRIEND, A RAGING WILDFIRE, YOUR LITTLE BROTHER, YOUR PARENTS EXTRA HEALTHY FOODS, A HERD OF CATTLE, A HIPPIE-MANAGED MENAGERIE, A NOT-A-LUMBERJACK, and other perils. It can be done! Dagmar did it.

[Heather Harper · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son and I loved this book, and really, a story about tight quarters couldn't be more perfect while hunkering down with family. It has laugh out loud dialogue and an incredible cast of zany characters. The voice is spot on and relatable. This is a wonderful book with lots of great lessons for kids without being heavy or preachy: how natural disasters don't discriminate and the healing power of our relationships. A must read!

[Stephanie A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The majority of the characters are irritating as anything, but I did enjoy the unique premise, the description of family life in a tiny home (which seems like a real Nightmare for anyone age 12-18 living in one with their family, unless their family is a single parent), Blake's New Age, animal-loving hippie aunt, and the very visceral lesson in why having a home so "smart" you can't even open the front door without electricity is extremely dumb.

The pacing is sometimes frantic and not to my personal taste, really, but I feel like this is a book that kids would genuinely enjoy, and that I probably would have liked a lot in elementary school myself. Not least because I appreciated the main character getting to both complain a lot about her 5-year-old half brother, and tell off her dad for being so stupid with money -- which they should have plenty of, thanks to her mom's regular support payments -- that they ended up homeless.

I'm shocked to see this book has less than a hundred reviews nearly 2 years post-publication; it deserves much wider readership.

[Sally Harper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Middle Grade Read
I bought this book for my grandson, and he loved it. It’s a fun story about a girl living in a tiny house with her hippie parents and younger brother. It culminates with a team of neighbors working together to escape a fire. The characters are great, and the story is exciting without being scary. A great middle school read!

[Brittany Dean · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was not expecting that in the book! This is a story about a girl and her family who have to live in a tiny house for a summer due to some financial issues! They take the tiny house to the middle of nowhere in a forest! There the girl Dagmar meets a boy who also lives in the woods with his family. The story takes lots of twist and turns!

[Oglaya · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great, heartwarming story. It's funny and full of adventures, but at the same treats difficult subjects like divorce and family feuds without ever being condescending. A perfect read for the adventurous reader, no matter how old they are.

[Breelynd Huntley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always liked tiny homes but I don't think I could live in one with 3 other people. Dagmar had to deal with so many changes at once, it was no wonder she was grumpy. It didn't help that most of the adults around her were clueless but she was extremely brave and resourceful.

[Naomi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very fun! This doesn't fit neatly into any tropes, and I love that about it. The characters are quirky but don't exhibit much growth, and the plot is fun but not riveting. Still, I do appreciate a solid story that is just really really new.

[Ranette · Rating 4 out of 5]

With little money her step-dad built a tiny house that they moved to the forest. Many neighbors were rich and had fancy homes. When a fire starts they all need to run, rich and poor. For grade school.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

I know this is fiction, but where are the sane adults seriously calling adults by their first name if you as an adult want to be non-gmo vegan? No dairy eating air is fine, but growing children need nutrients. Acting like spoiled immature children (the adults) and Trent seriously needs to grow up.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this but did find the ending unsatisfying.

[Aaliyah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finished early not my fav book.

[Donna Dobihal Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This quick read has plenty to recommend it: unique living and parenting styles, suspense, humor, high tech challenges, and an exciting ending that will have them on the edge of their seats. I'd love to be a fly on the wall, if used for a book club, and the discussion gets around to the characters. A great book club choice.

[Mason Z · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was amazing! I just couldn’t stop reading. I would definitely recommend reading it!