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Island of the Aunts

 Island of the Aunts
type
TVTItem
 Island of the Aunts
label
Island of the Aunts
 Island of the Aunts
page
IslandOfTheAunts
 Island of the Aunts
comment
Island of the Aunts is a 1999 children's book by Eva Ibbotson, also published under the name Monster Mission.Three sisters (the eponymous aunts) take care of injured and sick creatures on a tiny island somewhere. They're not getting any younger, and when, one day, they’re watching a TV show about extinct animals, they suddenly realize that they might go extinct themselves. They need young people to help them and inherit their duties. Therefore, they decide to kidnap kids whom nobody will miss, as the island is top-secret, and just hiring people won’t do. (Their niece and nephew are spoiled children, who really wouldn’t be able to do hard work; the offspring of a sister who found the island unhygienic and fled as soon as she was an adult.) Etta kidnaps Minette, whose divorced parents are constantly fighting and have her travel from one to the other via train on a regular basis. Coral chooses Fabio, who is originally from Brazil, and is just about to be sent to a horrible English school, where it is implied he will be bullied for looking foreign. Myrtle soon decides that the boy she volunteered to babysit, Lambert, is a horrible child, but when he accidentally sniffs her chloroform, she sees no other solution than to take him to the island and let her sisters sort it out.On the island, Minette and Fabio, after proving themselves by hard work caring for the local fauna, are told about the island’s secret: There are magical creatures too, a family of mermaids, and a boobrie (a giant bird), among others. The aunts try to keep Lambert ignorant, but he manages to phone his father, and that’s when things become really difficult for the aunts.
 Island of the Aunts
fetched
2023-11-13T02:01:54Z
 Island of the Aunts
parsed
2023-11-13T02:01:54Z
 Island of the Aunts
isPartOf
DBTropes
 Island of the Aunts / int_21cf9301
type
Family of Choice
 Island of the Aunts / int_21cf9301
comment
Family of Choice: Minette and Fabio find the aunts to be more caring than their actual guardians and become their actual Honorary Aunts. The aunts eventually write a will that legally leaves to island to Minette and Fabio once they pass away, despite the fact that they have two nephews of the same age, who are perfectly unfit to take care of the island and its creatures.
 Island of the Aunts / int_21cf9301
featureApplicability
1.0
 Island of the Aunts / int_21cf9301
featureConfidence
1.0
 Island of the Aunts
hasFeature
Island of the Aunts / int_21cf9301
 Island of the Aunts / int_2af6bbeb
type
Break the Haughty
 Island of the Aunts / int_2af6bbeb
comment
Break the Haughty: Poor Queenie, after she's caught by Lambert's father.
 Island of the Aunts / int_2af6bbeb
featureApplicability
1.0
 Island of the Aunts / int_2af6bbeb
featureConfidence
1.0
 Island of the Aunts
hasFeature
Island of the Aunts / int_2af6bbeb
 Island of the Aunts / int_34889673
type
Gender Flip
 Island of the Aunts / int_34889673
comment
Gender Flip: The traditional fairy tale of the selkie with the human lover is gender-flipped with Herbert, the selkie who isn't completely happy either as a seal or as a man.
 Island of the Aunts / int_34889673
featureApplicability
1.0
 Island of the Aunts / int_34889673
featureConfidence
1.0
 Island of the Aunts
hasFeature
Island of the Aunts / int_34889673
 Island of the Aunts / int_40212a27
type
Broken Angel
 Island of the Aunts / int_40212a27
comment
Broken Angel: After getting into an oil spill, the mermaids lose their mermaid-typical beauty.
 Island of the Aunts / int_40212a27
featureApplicability
1.0
 Island of the Aunts / int_40212a27
featureConfidence
1.0
 Island of the Aunts
hasFeature
Island of the Aunts / int_40212a27
 Island of the Aunts / int_424c9a9b
type
Cold-Blooded Torture
 Island of the Aunts / int_424c9a9b
comment
Cold-Blooded Torture: The villains use a family-friendly version of this to get information about the location of magical creatures.
 Island of the Aunts / int_424c9a9b
featureApplicability
1.0
 Island of the Aunts / int_424c9a9b
featureConfidence
1.0
 Island of the Aunts
hasFeature
Island of the Aunts / int_424c9a9b
 Island of the Aunts / int_479d4e5a
type
Would Hurt a Child
 Island of the Aunts / int_479d4e5a
comment
Would Hurt a Child: Mr. Sprott invades the island to kidnap the creatures and create a horrible amusement park that will exploit their suffering for cheap laugh. At the end of the book, he's about to kill everyone from the island—including two children—by throwing them into the sea to drown.
 Island of the Aunts / int_479d4e5a
featureApplicability
1.0
 Island of the Aunts / int_479d4e5a
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 Island of the Aunts
hasFeature
Island of the Aunts / int_479d4e5a
 Island of the Aunts / int_59907e4f
type
Police Are Useless
 Island of the Aunts / int_59907e4f
comment
Police Are Useless: Inverted. Minette and Fabio's families believe that the police are sitting down doing nothing because they want to blame someone instead of themselves (the children have disappeared mostly due to their neglect) and because they are profiting from releasing interviews where they lament about the investigations and get paid for them. Mr. Sprott also resolves to go find Lambert by himself when he receives his call instead of alerting the police because he doesn't trust them (he's a Corrupt Corporate Executive and the police are investigating his shadier businesses). The police are actually doing a fairly good investigation following Mr. Sprott himself, but most of the time they are staying silent until they find real evidence.
 Island of the Aunts / int_59907e4f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Island of the Aunts / int_59907e4f
featureConfidence
1.0
 Island of the Aunts
hasFeature
Island of the Aunts / int_59907e4f
 Island of the Aunts / int_5ced9082
type
Dire Beast
 Island of the Aunts / int_5ced9082
comment
Dire Beast: The boobrie, a bird of the size of an elephant.
 Island of the Aunts / int_5ced9082
featureApplicability
1.0
 Island of the Aunts / int_5ced9082
featureConfidence
1.0
 Island of the Aunts
hasFeature
Island of the Aunts / int_5ced9082
 Island of the Aunts / int_65fcc287
type
Lima Syndrome
 Island of the Aunts / int_65fcc287
comment
Lima Syndrome: The aunts were never malicious, but they do grow fond of the kids and become a bit more realistic about the whole kidnapping business.
 Island of the Aunts / int_65fcc287
featureApplicability
1.0
 Island of the Aunts / int_65fcc287
featureConfidence
1.0
 Island of the Aunts
hasFeature
Island of the Aunts / int_65fcc287
 Island of the Aunts / int_66e48100
type
The Kindnapper
 Island of the Aunts / int_66e48100
comment
The Kindnapper: The aunts are well-meaning, and originally intended to only kidnap kids who wanted to get away from their ordinary lives. Lambert was an accident.
 Island of the Aunts / int_66e48100
featureApplicability
1.0
 Island of the Aunts / int_66e48100
featureConfidence
1.0
 Island of the Aunts
hasFeature
Island of the Aunts / int_66e48100
 Island of the Aunts / int_67fe4b8e
type
Ship Sinking
 Island of the Aunts / int_67fe4b8e
comment
Ship Sinking: Aside from the actual ship sinking Herbert and Myrtle do not get together despite an entire novel of Ship Tease. He's not happy as a man and decides to turn into a seal again and leaves with the Kraken. Myrtle is heartbroken, but knows that letting him go is the right thing.
 Island of the Aunts / int_67fe4b8e
featureApplicability
1.0
 Island of the Aunts / int_67fe4b8e
featureConfidence
1.0
 Island of the Aunts
hasFeature
Island of the Aunts / int_67fe4b8e
 Island of the Aunts / int_727a65e0
type
Gaslighting
 Island of the Aunts / int_727a65e0
comment
Gaslighting: A somewhat more benevolent example than most. To keep Lambert from throwing a fit every time he sees one of the mystical animals on the island, Fabio lies to him that none of them actually exist and they're all hallucinations he's having as a side effect of the flour used in their food. Lambert accepts this and copes considerably better while thinking he's just imagining everything.
 Island of the Aunts / int_727a65e0
featureApplicability
1.0
 Island of the Aunts / int_727a65e0
featureConfidence
1.0
 Island of the Aunts
hasFeature
Island of the Aunts / int_727a65e0
 Island of the Aunts / int_7f152e56
type
Our Mermaids Are Different
 Island of the Aunts / int_7f152e56
comment
Our Mermaids Are Different: Of the mermaid family, one is a visibly old lady, one is an chain-smoking divorcee, and the baby is a merboy, who is rather chubby. Only the young twin mermaids resemble the stereotype.
 Island of the Aunts / int_7f152e56
featureApplicability
1.0
 Island of the Aunts / int_7f152e56
featureConfidence
1.0
 Island of the Aunts
hasFeature
Island of the Aunts / int_7f152e56
 Island of the Aunts / int_7f16e7a4
type
Shapeshifting Lover
 Island of the Aunts / int_7f16e7a4
comment
Shapeshifting Lover: When Sprott's bodyguard Des attacks the abovementioned seal, this trope ensues for the aunt who was friends with his seal-form.
 Island of the Aunts / int_7f16e7a4
featureApplicability
1.0
 Island of the Aunts / int_7f16e7a4
featureConfidence
1.0
 Island of the Aunts
hasFeature
Island of the Aunts / int_7f16e7a4
 Island of the Aunts / int_8183248
type
Never Mess with Granny
 Island of the Aunts / int_8183248
comment
Never Mess with Granny: Never mess with mermaid granny. The aunts are not actual grandmothers, but still badass, too.
 Island of the Aunts / int_8183248
featureApplicability
1.0
 Island of the Aunts / int_8183248
featureConfidence
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 Island of the Aunts
hasFeature
Island of the Aunts / int_8183248
 Island of the Aunts / int_927b2f11
type
The Bus Came Back
 Island of the Aunts / int_927b2f11
comment
The Bus Came Back: It's mentioned that the three sisters were originally five: there is Betty, who didn't like living on the island and becomes a suburban housewife in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and Dorothy, an activist who travels the world trying to save rare animals from being served in restaurants. Both sisters eventually appear.
 Island of the Aunts / int_927b2f11
featureApplicability
1.0
 Island of the Aunts / int_927b2f11
featureConfidence
1.0
 Island of the Aunts
hasFeature
Island of the Aunts / int_927b2f11
 Island of the Aunts / int_963e36bd
type
Boarding School of Horrors
 Island of the Aunts / int_963e36bd
comment
Boarding School of Horrors: Fabio is sent by his grandparents to the horrible Graymarsh Towers to learn how to be an "English gentleman", while he's mercilessly mistreated and bullied.
 Island of the Aunts / int_963e36bd
featureApplicability
1.0
 Island of the Aunts / int_963e36bd
featureConfidence
1.0
 Island of the Aunts
hasFeature
Island of the Aunts / int_963e36bd
 Island of the Aunts / int_9ceae394
type
Facial Composite Failure
 Island of the Aunts / int_9ceae394
comment
Facial Composite Failure: The police circulate composite drawings of the aunts, who are wanted for kidnapping. However, the descriptions result in grotesque caricatures that look nothing like the real women.
 Island of the Aunts / int_9ceae394
featureApplicability
1.0
 Island of the Aunts / int_9ceae394
featureConfidence
1.0
 Island of the Aunts
hasFeature
Island of the Aunts / int_9ceae394
 Island of the Aunts / int_9d12bbc1
type
Foreshadowing
 Island of the Aunts / int_9d12bbc1
comment
Foreshadowing: At the beginning, the aunts are lamenting how much work there is to do on the island, and how some creatures refuse to leave even after they've been healed. It's because the Kraken has come out from his retirement and is heading to the island.
 Island of the Aunts / int_9d12bbc1
featureApplicability
1.0
 Island of the Aunts / int_9d12bbc1
featureConfidence
1.0
 Island of the Aunts
hasFeature
Island of the Aunts / int_9d12bbc1
 Island of the Aunts / int_a54534a0
type
Parental Neglect
 Island of the Aunts / int_a54534a0
comment
Parental Neglect: Minette's parents, towards her. While her mother's boyfriend isn't technically related, we do see him hoping she'll be sent to stay with her father because she takes up too much space in their house. Also it takes eight freaking days to realize their daughter has disappeared. While it is easier to lose track of a child living between two houses, any sane divorced parent would check the same evening if their daughter is arrived to destination or ask the other parent for explanation instead of buying the words of a stranger.
 Island of the Aunts / int_a54534a0
featureApplicability
1.0
 Island of the Aunts / int_a54534a0
featureConfidence
1.0
 Island of the Aunts
hasFeature
Island of the Aunts / int_a54534a0
 Island of the Aunts / int_a5f998ea
type
Stockholm Syndrome
 Island of the Aunts / int_a5f998ea
comment
Stockholm Syndrome: It doesn't take the children long to enjoy living on the island and helping the aunts. It helps that the aunts are considerably more caring than the children's own guardians are. This is lampshaded at one point when Minette asks Fabio if they shouldn't be planning an escape from the island, but they enjoy living there too much to think about running away.
 Island of the Aunts / int_a5f998ea
featureApplicability
1.0
 Island of the Aunts / int_a5f998ea
featureConfidence
1.0
 Island of the Aunts
hasFeature
Island of the Aunts / int_a5f998ea
 Island of the Aunts / int_b09c818
type
"Blackmail" Is Such an Ugly Word
 Island of the Aunts / int_b09c818
comment
"Blackmail" Is Such an Ugly Word: When Mr. Sprott finds out about the island and its magic creatures, he tries to blackmail the aunts into selling him the island; otherwise he will rat them out to the police.
 Island of the Aunts / int_b09c818
featureApplicability
1.0
 Island of the Aunts / int_b09c818
featureConfidence
1.0
 Island of the Aunts
hasFeature
Island of the Aunts / int_b09c818
 Island of the Aunts / int_b1dde8fd
type
Loophole Abuse
 Island of the Aunts / int_b1dde8fd
comment
Loophole Abuse: How the aunts are acquitted at their trial. The defence barrister argues that the by-the-book definition of kidnapping is "holding someone against their will". Which is not exactly what happened, because the children enjoyed staying there and the aunts would have let them go if they wanted.
 Island of the Aunts / int_b1dde8fd
featureApplicability
1.0
 Island of the Aunts / int_b1dde8fd
featureConfidence
1.0
 Island of the Aunts
hasFeature
Island of the Aunts / int_b1dde8fd
 Island of the Aunts / int_b2b1d6cb
type
Sirens Are Mermaids
 Island of the Aunts / int_b2b1d6cb
comment
Sirens Are Mermaids: Parodied. A mermaid tried to make money by causing a ship to sink, enchanting the captain with her hypnotizing singing voice... sadly, the times have changed, and instead of gold and treasures, the ship she caused to sink had oil on board.
 Island of the Aunts / int_b2b1d6cb
featureApplicability
1.0
 Island of the Aunts / int_b2b1d6cb
featureConfidence
1.0
 Island of the Aunts
hasFeature
Island of the Aunts / int_b2b1d6cb
 Island of the Aunts / int_b51128fa
type
Gilded Cage
 Island of the Aunts / int_b51128fa
comment
Gilded Cage: Once Queenie is kidnapped she's kept in the fancy Jacuzzi of Mrs. Sprott's bathroom. She's surrounded by luxury and beautiful things, but she's utterly miserable since she is captive to vile, greedy individuals.
 Island of the Aunts / int_b51128fa
featureApplicability
1.0
 Island of the Aunts / int_b51128fa
featureConfidence
1.0
 Island of the Aunts
hasFeature
Island of the Aunts / int_b51128fa
 Island of the Aunts / int_bb18a227
type
It's All About Me
 Island of the Aunts / int_bb18a227
comment
It's All About Me: All the children's parents and guardians are self-centred and neglectful. It took all of them at least a week to notice their children had disappeared. Also, during the investigations they release interviews to earn some money out of their tragedy. Mr. Sprott is the worst of the bunch though, being a Corrupt Corporate Executive who blames his attempted murder of Minette, Fabio, and the aunts on them for not "cooperating" with him and his evil deeds.
 Island of the Aunts / int_bb18a227
featureApplicability
1.0
 Island of the Aunts / int_bb18a227
featureConfidence
1.0
 Island of the Aunts
hasFeature
Island of the Aunts / int_bb18a227
 Island of the Aunts / int_c59d9a4b
type
Half-Breed Discrimination
 Island of the Aunts / int_c59d9a4b
comment
Half-Breed Discrimination: The main reason Fabio doesn't want to go to Graymarsh Towers; he's half-English and half-Brazilian, originally being raised in South America, and is bullied relentlessly by his English peers and looked down upon by his own paternal grandparents. The word itself is never used in the text, but it's quite obvious that all his tormentors are acting out of racism.
 Island of the Aunts / int_c59d9a4b
featureApplicability
1.0
 Island of the Aunts / int_c59d9a4b
featureConfidence
1.0
 Island of the Aunts
hasFeature
Island of the Aunts / int_c59d9a4b
 Island of the Aunts / int_cbe687ab
type
Corrupt Corporate Executive
 Island of the Aunts / int_cbe687ab
comment
Corrupt Corporate Executive: Mr. Sprott is a billionaire who owns several businesses between the UK and America and has other non-specified shady activities that the police are investigating. He attempts to murder the aunts and the children along with them when they refuse to sell him the island.
 Island of the Aunts / int_cbe687ab
featureApplicability
1.0
 Island of the Aunts / int_cbe687ab
featureConfidence
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 Island of the Aunts
hasFeature
Island of the Aunts / int_cbe687ab
 Island of the Aunts / int_ccb636fe
type
Kraken and Leviathan
 Island of the Aunts / int_ccb636fe
comment
Kraken and Leviathan: The giant Kraken puts in an appearance; you'd be forgiven for not envisioning a traditional Kraken as you read, though, since cephalopod-like traits aren't mentioned even once in the whole book. There's a little one, too; it likes cookies and is quite adorable.
 Island of the Aunts / int_ccb636fe
featureApplicability
1.0
 Island of the Aunts / int_ccb636fe
featureConfidence
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 Island of the Aunts
hasFeature
Island of the Aunts / int_ccb636fe
 Island of the Aunts / int_cf92fea8
type
Cassandra Truth
 Island of the Aunts / int_cf92fea8
comment
Cassandra Truth: When Queenie is abducted by Mr. Sprott's henchmen her mother believes she has left with a lover. Her other daughter, who knows better since she was once kidnapped herself, keeps telling that Queenie didn't leave willingly but she's ignored.
 Island of the Aunts / int_cf92fea8
featureApplicability
1.0
 Island of the Aunts / int_cf92fea8
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 Island of the Aunts
hasFeature
Island of the Aunts / int_cf92fea8
 Island of the Aunts / int_d08595d3
type
Broken Bird
 Island of the Aunts / int_d08595d3
comment
Broken Bird: Queenie's twin Oona, who was taken captive by a lordling on his yacht for several days before escaping. She is incredibly withdrawn and her voice is still hoarse from crying so much.
 Island of the Aunts / int_d08595d3
featureApplicability
1.0
 Island of the Aunts / int_d08595d3
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 Island of the Aunts
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Island of the Aunts / int_d08595d3
 Island of the Aunts / int_fe42181f
type
Selkies and Wereseals
 Island of the Aunts / int_fe42181f
comment
Selkies and Wereseals: Myrtle, the youngest aunt, is friends with Herbert, a suspiciously human-like seal. She reads him poetry and plays him classical music with her cello.
 Island of the Aunts / int_fe42181f
featureApplicability
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Island of the Aunts / int_fe42181f
 Island of the Aunts / int_name
type
ItemName
 Island of the Aunts / int_name
comment
 Island of the Aunts / int_name
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Island of the Aunts / int_name
 Island of the Aunts / int_name
itemName
Island of the Aunts

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 Island of the Aunts
hasFeature
Broken Angel / int_7b4b77c1
 Island of the Aunts
hasFeature
Children's Literature / int_7b4b77c1
 Island of the Aunts
hasFeature
Cold-Blooded Torture / int_7b4b77c1
 Island of the Aunts
hasFeature
Fantastic Nature Reserve / int_7b4b77c1
 Island of the Aunts
hasFeature
Ironic Fear / int_7b4b77c1
 Island of the Aunts
hasFeature
Lima Syndrome / int_7b4b77c1
 Island of the Aunts
hasFeature
Mermaid Media / int_7b4b77c1
 Island of the Aunts
hasFeature
Mermaid Works Launching This Weekend / int_7b4b77c1
 Island of the Aunts
hasFeature
Never Mess with Granny / int_7b4b77c1
 Island of the Aunts
hasFeature
Screw Politeness, I'm a Senior! / int_7b4b77c1
 Island of the Aunts
hasFeature
Shapeshifting Lover / int_7b4b77c1
 Island of the Aunts
hasFeature
Sirens Are Mermaids / int_7b4b77c1