Rilla of Ingleside. L.M. Montgomery. 1921. 280 pages.
IT was a warm, golden-cloudy, lovable afternoon. In the big living-room at Ingleside Susan Baker sat down with a certain grim satisfaction hovering about her like an aura; it was four o'clock and Susan, who had been working incessantly since six that morning, felt that she had fairly earned an hour of repose and gossip. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Rilla of Ingleside. It is beautiful, heartbreaking, wonderful, memorable, and compelling. It is
everything it should be. It closely follows World War I--from the Canadian home front; and at times it shows just how ugly and frightening war can be. It's a patriotic novel, however. Rilla of Ingleside is also an unforgettable coming of age story. Readers watch Rilla mature from a laughter-loving fourteen year old girl into a strong, resilient young woman ready for life and love. This is Rilla's story from cover to cover. Rilla is forced to say goodbye to three brothers (Jem, Walter, Shirley), two childhood friends (Jerry, Carl), and her young love (Kenneth Ford) as they go off to war and uncertain futures. And she has to do with a smile on her face and no tears. Will she ever see any of them again? Will they return whole? Will life ever be the same for any of them again?
But Rilla is ever-busy. Not only is she doing work for the Red-Cross, she's adopted a war orphan! Though she's just fourteen, this young baby boy will be HER responsibility. For Rilla who has never really "liked" babies or found them cute and adorable, this is a challenge...at least at first. But as he starts to grow and change...her heart melts.
My favorite characters were Rilla, Susan Baker, Walter, Miss Oliver, and Dog Monday. If you've read this one, don't you agree that the Dog Monday parts are incredibly moving?
From chapter one:
There was a big, black headline on the front page of the Enterprise, stating that some Archduke Ferdinand or other had been assassinated at a place bearing the weird name of Sarajevo, but Susan tarried not over uninteresting, immaterial stuff like that; she was in quest of something really vital.
Well, that is all the notes and there is not much else in the paper of any importance. I never take much interest in foreign parts. Who is this Archduke man who has been murdered?" "What does it matter to us?" asked Miss Cornelia, unaware of the hideous answer to her question which destiny was even then preparing. "Somebody is always murdering or being murdered in those Balkan States. It's their normal condition and I don't really think that our papers ought to print such shocking things.
Wherever Rilla Blythe was, there was laughter.
There was another occupant of the living-room, curled up on a couch, who must not be overlooked, since he was a creature of marked individuality, and, moreover, had the distinction of being the only living thing whom Susan really hated. All cats are mysterious but Dr. Jekyll-and-Mr. Hyde–"Doc" for short–were trebly so. He was a cat of double personality–or else, as Susan vowed, he was possessed by the devil. To begin with, there had been something uncanny about the very dawn of his existence. Four years previously Rilla Blythe had had a treasured darling of a kitten, white as snow, with a saucy black tip to its tail, which she called Jack Frost. Susan disliked Jack Frost, though she could not or would not give any valid reason therefor.
"Take my word for it, Mrs. Dr. dear," she was wont to say ominously, "that cat will come to no good."
"But why do you think so?" Mrs. Blythe would ask.
"I do not think–I know," was all the answer Susan would vouchsafe.
"The only thing I envy a cat is its purr," remarked Dr. Blythe once, listening to Doc's resonant melody. "It is the most contented sound in the world."
Rilla is the only one of my flock who isn't ambitious. I really wish she had a little more ambition. She has no serious ideals at all–her sole aspiration seems to be to have a good time.
From chapter two,
Rilla was the "baby" of the Blythe family and was in a chronic state of secret indignation because nobody believed she was grown up. She was so nearly fifteen that she called herself that, and she was quite as tall as Di and Nan; also, she was nearly as pretty as Susan believed her to be. She had great, dreamy, hazel eyes, a milky skin dappled with little golden freckles, and delicately arched eyebrows, giving her a demure, questioning look which made people, especially lads in their teens, want to answer it. Her hair was ripely, ruddily brown and a little dent in her upper lip looked as if some good fairy had pressed it in with her finger at Rilla's christening. Rilla, whose best friends could not deny her share of vanity, thought her face would do very well, but worried over her figure, and wished her mother could be prevailed upon to let her wear longer dresses. She, who had been so plump and roly-poly in the old Rainbow Valley days, was incredibly slim now, in the arms-and-legs period. Jem and Shirley harrowed her soul by calling her "Spider." Yet she somehow escaped awkwardness. There was something in her movements that made you think she never walked but always danced. She had been much petted and was a wee bit spoiled, but still the general opinion was that Rilla Blythe was a very sweet girl, even if she were not so clever as Nan and Di.
Rilla loved Walter with all her heart. He never teased her as Jem and Shirley did. He never called her "Spider." His pet name for her was "Rilla-my-Rilla"�a little pun on her real name, Marilla...
Dog Monday was the Ingleside dog, so called because he had come into the family on a Monday when Walter had been reading Robinson Crusoe. He really belonged to Jem but was much attached to Walter also. He was lying beside Walter now with nose snuggled against his arm, thumping his tail rapturously whenever Walter gave him a pat. Monday was not a collie or a setter or a hound or a Newfoundland. He was just, as Jem said, "plain dog"�very plain dog, uncharitable people added. Certainly, Monday's looks were not his strong point. Black spots were scattered at random over his yellow carcass, one of them blotting out an eye. His ears were in tatters, for Monday was never successful in affairs of honour. But he possessed one talisman. He knew that not all dogs could be handsome or eloquent or victorious, but that every dog could love. Inside his homely hide beat the most affectionate, loyal, faithful heart of any dog since dogs were; and something looked out of his brown eyes that was nearer akin to a soul than any theologian would allow. Everybody at Ingleside was fond of him, even Susan.
"There's plenty of time for you to be grown up, Rilla. Don't wish your youth away. It goes too quickly. You'll begin to taste life soon enough."
"Taste life! I want to eat it," cried Rilla, laughing. "I want everything–everything a girl can have. I'll be fifteen in another month, and then nobody can say I'm a child any longer. I heard someone say once that the years from fifteen to nineteen are the best years in a girl's life. I'm going to make them perfectly splendid–just fill them with fun."
"There's no use thinking about what you're going to do–you are tolerably sure not to do it."
"Oh, but you do get a lot of fun out of the thinking," cried Rilla.
"You think of nothing but fun, you monkey," said Miss Oliver indulgently, reflecting that Rilla's chin was really the last word in chins. "Well, what else is fifteen for?"
From chapter three,
"The new day is knocking at the window. What will it bring us, I wonder.... "I think the nicest thing about days is their unexpectedness," went on Rilla. "It's jolly to wake up like this on a golden-fine morning and day-dream for ten minutes before I get up, imagining the heaps of splendid things that may happen before night."
© 2013 Becky Laney of
Becky's Book Reviews
Rainbow Valley. L.M. Montgomery. 1919. 256 pages.
The Meredith children are struggling to raise themselves as readers will come to see if they read Rainbow Valley. Their father is a Presbyterian minister--an absent-minded minister; their mother is dead. There is an aunt that makes an effort to keep house, but her efforts don't always include keeping the children. So Jerry, Faith, Una, and Carl have plenty of time for trouble. Not that they seek it out, it just happens to find them time and time again. Like when Faith and Una accidentally get the days of the week confused, attend Sunday School on a drearily rainy Saturday and do their laundry and dirty work in full-view of the church-attending crowd on Sunday. (I believe Methodist.) The children are always do something to shock someone in the congregation or community. But their intentions are all good and honorable.
The Meredith children are best friends with the Blythe children: Jem, Walter, Nan, Di, Shirley, and Rilla. The two families love to be together: telling stories, playing together, imagining dream worlds together. Readers catch a glimpse of the Anne, Gilbert, and their children...but the story truly begins to all four Meredith children.
Another child in their group is the crazy and always unpredictable Mary Vance, an orphan discovered by the Meredith children and later adopted by Mrs. Elliot. She can be hard to take, even her closest friends feel this way at times. But she sure does keep things lively!
Rainbow Valley ends in a lovely romance. Mr. Meredith gets a second chance for love, as does a delightful woman named Rosemary West. The children help bring these two together--in a touching way.
There are also some haunting sections of this one as L.M. Montgomery foreshadows the coming Great War (World War I). This is the novel where Walter first gets a glimpse of the Pied Piper coming for them all...a theme later picked up in Rilla of Ingleside.
I definitely LOVED this one. Like Story Girl and The Golden Road, it captures the ups and downs of day-to-day life through the eyes of children.
“It is never quite safe to think we have done with life. When we imagine we have finished our story fate has a trick of turning the page and showing us yet another chapter.”
Read Rainbow Valley
- If you love L.M. Montgomery
- If you love classics, children's classics, cozy historical novels
- If you love good storytelling
- If you're looking for stories about preacher's kids
© 2013 Becky Laney of
Becky's Book Reviews
The Story Girl. L.M. Montgomery. 1911. 220 pages.
This children's book by L.M. Montgomery focuses on a family of cousins. Beverly (the narrator) and Felix are visiting their aunts and uncles and cousins on Prince Edward Island while their father leaves the country on business. The cousins are Dan, Felicity, Cecily King and Sara Stanley (aka The Story Girl). Two non-relations complete the group, Peter Craig, a hired boy on one of the King farms, and Sara Ray, a neighbor girl prone to excessive crying. Each child is unique, and they don't always get along with one another. Some are very stubborn and opinionated. The book chronicles their adventures and misadventures May through November their first year together. The Story Girl has many, many admirers. She charms just about everyone with the sound of her voice. She's a natural storyteller and she uses that to her advantage plenty of times. (For example, she makes friends with more eccentric 'characters' in town; she gets money out of a man who never ever contributes to any cause.) But she also uses her stories to amuse and entertain her friends on a daily basis. Sometimes these are true stories based on family history, the community, etc. Other times the stories are more imaginative and might-have-been-true stories. A couple of ghost stories, a couple of love stories--including a story on how kissing was discovered.
My favorite chapters were about 'the judgment day.' They read one day (Saturday perhaps?) in a newspaper that the Judgment Day is the next day at 2PM. They believe it. They worry that tomorrow really is the LAST DAY. Some are full of regrets, some make resolutions. They take great comfort in being together until the very end. I really enjoyed this section because Peter decides to start reading the Bible beginning with Genesis. What he discovers after spending hours in the Word is just how much he LIKES reading the Bible and how interesting it really is. Though the judgment does not happen, though life soon returns to normal for just about everyone...Peter keeps with the Bible.
I also enjoyed the 'dream books.' Each decides to keep a special book to record ALL their dreams. They get together daily and share their dreams, each trying to out-dream the other. Then a few of them get the 'clever' idea to eat disagreeable foods so they have more interesting, more troubled dreams...
I liked these stories, these adventures. I liked seeing the children with one another. Loved their conversations and arguments.
Favorite quotes:
“There is such a place as fairyland - but only children can find the way to it. And they do not know that it is fairyland until they have grown so old that they forget the way. One bitter day, when they seek it and cannot find it, they realize what they have lost; and that is the tragedy of life. On that day the gates of Eden are shut behind them and the age of gold is over. Henceforth they must dwell in the common light of common day. Only a few, who remain children at heart, can ever find that fair, lost path again; and blessed are they above mortals. They, and only they, can bring us tidings from that dear country where we once sojourned and from which we must evermore be exiles. The world calls them its singers and poets and artists and story-tellers; but they are just people who have never forgotten the way to fairyland.”
“Well, I don't know," said the Story Girl thoughtfully. "I think there are two kinds of true thing - true things that are, and true things that are not, but might be.”
"If voices had colour, hers would have been like a rainbow. It made words LIVE. Whatever she said became a breathing entity, not a mere verbal statement of utterance. Felix and I were too young to understand or analyze the impression it made upon us; but we instantly felt at her greeting that it WAS a good morning--a surpassingly good morning, the very best morning that had ever happened in this most excellent of worlds."
"It's no wonder we can't understand the grown-ups," said the Story Girl indignantly, "because we've never been grown-up ourselves. But THEY have been children, and I don't see why they can't understand us."
© 2013 Becky Laney of
Becky's Book Reviews
Elsie Dinsmore. Martha Finley. 1867. 320 pages.
Reading Elsie Dinsmore is an
experience. But is it a pleasant experience? Or an infuriating one? And if is an infuriating one? Why is it SO infuriating? Well, this is how Elsie's described:
Though not a remarkably precocious child in other respects, she seemed to have very clear and correct views on almost every subject connected with her duty to God and her neighbor; was very truthful both in word and deed, very strict in her observance of the Sabbath--though the rest of the family were by no means particular in that respect--very diligent in her studies; respectful to superiors, and kind to inferiors and equals; and she was gentle, sweet-tempered, patient, and forgiving to a remarkable degree. (17)
Elsie Dinsmore is a young girl being raised by her grandparents. Her father is alive but traveling; her mother is dead. The house has plenty of children, Elsie's aunts and uncles, most are close to her in age, just close enough to bully in some cases. Elsie is bullied by children older and younger than her. Most of her aunts and uncles are true brats, for the most part. But Elsie doesn't find compassion, sympathy, courtesy, or respect from any (white) adult on the plantation. (Most of the slaves, however, love and adore her.) So how does Elsie spend her time? Reading the Bible, crying, praying, and talking with her beloved mammy, one of the few people on the plantation that love Jesus just as much as she does. Anytime Elsie is picked on unfairly (which happens at least once per chapter), she doesn't complain; she doesn't make excuses; she doesn't defend herself; she doesn't tattle on others; she just cries and submits to whatever punishment the adults hand out. Several chapters into this one, her father returns home. Elsie wants more than anything to feel warmth, love, affection from her father. But he finds her an unnatural child and prefers to spend time with his own brothers and sisters (Elsie's aunts and uncles). Any interactions they do seem to have with each other is disciplinary. The more he disciplines, the more Elsie loves him. She doesn't resent his harshness or think him mean or unfair. The more he misunderstands her, the more she understands her own weaknesses and failures. She's a sinner. She's a horribly, rebellious sinner. Her father isn't punishing her enough.
Elsie Dinsmore is NOT Jane Eyre OR Mary Lennox OR Anne Shirley. She has no fight within her, no gumption or spirit.
Elsie Dinsmore talks openly about her faith in Jesus Christ. And her eagerness for everyone in her life to come to Christ is evident in her dialogue. She is clearly presenting the gospel message--the bad news and the good news--to everyone in her life. She's eager to share what truths she's learned with others. And she LOVES to quote Scriptures to those around her. Very few in her family want to hear talk about Jesus, very few want to hear the Bible read to them, but, Elsie consistently tries her best to reach out to others.
I had a difficult time liking any of the characters, especially the adults: her grandfather, her grandmother, her father, her governess. I didn't have an easy time loving Elsie either. While I appreciated Elsie's love for Jesus, I could not identify with Elsie as a heroine. She did not respond naturally, in my opinion, to her family. The adults in Elsie's life were infuriating. There were dozens of times when it would only be normal and natural for Elsie to get angry and show it, even if that showing was only to the readers and happened in the privacy of her own room. I also hated the fact that her father was always, always yelling at her to stop crying. While her father eventually calmed down slightly and started treating his daughter better than before, it still wasn't enough for me to actually like this novel.
Have you read the novel? What did you think of the characterization and dialogue? Is there any benefit to reading Elsie Dinsmore?
Quotes from the novel:
She laid down the geography, and opening her desk, took out a small pocket Bible, which bore the marks of frequent use. She turned over the leaves as though seeking for some particular passage; at length she found it, and wiping away the blinding tears, she read these words in a low, murmuring tone:
"For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. For even hereunto were ye called; because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that ye should follow His steps."
"Oh! I have not done it. I did not take it patiently. I am afraid I am not following in His steps," she cried, bursting into an agony of tears and sobs. (6)
Readers also meet Rose Allison, a Northern woman visiting the South. She is Elsie's kindred spirit.
"She is an odd child," said Adelaide; "I don't understand her; she is so meek and patient she will fairly let you trample upon her. It provokes papa. He says she is no Dinsmore, or she would know how to stand up for her own rights; and yet she has a temper, I know, for once in a great while it shows itself for an instant—only an instant, though, and at very long intervals—and then she grieves over it for days, as though she had committed some great crime; while the rest of us think nothing of getting angry half a dozen times in a day. And then she is forever poring over that little Bible of hers; what she sees so attractive in it I'm sure I cannot tell, for I must say I find it the dullest of dull books."
"Do you," said Rose; "how strange! I had rather give up all other books than that one. 'Thy testimonies have I taken as a heritage forever, for they are the rejoicing of my heart,' 'How sweet are thy words unto my taste! Yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth.'"
"Do you really love it so, Rose?" asked Adelaide, lifting her eyes to her friend's face with an expression of astonishment; "do tell me why?"
"For its exceeding great and precious promises Adelaide; for its holy teachings; for its offers of peace and pardon and eternal life. I am a sinner, Adelaide, lost, ruined, helpless, hopeless, and the Bible brings me the glad news of salvation offered as a free, unmerited gift; it tells me that Jesus died to save sinners—just such sinners as I. I find that I have a heart deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, and the blessed Bible tells me how that heart can be renewed, and where I can obtain that holiness without which no man shall see the Lord. I find myself utterly unable to keep God's holy law, and it tells me of One who has kept it for me. I find that I deserve the wrath and curse of a justly offended God, and it tells me of Him who was made a curse for me. I find that all my righteousnesses are as filthy rags, and it offers me the beautiful, spotless robe of Christ's perfect righteousness. Yes, it tells me that God can be just, and the justifier of him who believes in Jesus."
Rose spoke these words with deep emotion, then suddenly clasping her hands and raising her eyes, she exclaimed, "'Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift!'"
For a moment there was silence. Then Adelaide spoke:
"Rose," said she, "you talk as if you were a great sinner; but I don't believe it; it is only your humility that makes you think so. Why, what have you ever done? Had you been a thief, a murderer, or guilty of any other great crime, I could see the propriety of your using such language with regard to yourself; but for a refined, intelligent, amiable young lady, excuse me for saying it, dear Rose, but such language seems to me simply absurd."
"Man looketh upon the outward appearance, but the Lord pondereth the heart," said Rose, gently. "No, dear Adelaide, you are mistaken; for I can truly say 'mine iniquities have gone over my head as a cloud, and my transgressions as a thick cloud.' Every duty has been stained with sin, every motive impure, every thought unholy. From my earliest existence, God has required the undivided love of my whole heart, soul, strength, and mind; and so far from yielding it, I live at enmity with Him, and rebellion against His government, until within the last two years. For seventeen years He has showered blessings upon me, giving me life, health, strength, friends, and all that was necessary for happiness; and for fifteen of those years I returned Him nothing but ingratitude and rebellion. For fifteen years I rejected His offers of pardon and reconciliation, turned my back upon the Saviour of sinners, and resisted all the strivings of God's Holy Spirit, and will you say that I am not a great sinner?" Her voice quivered, and her eyes were full of tears.
"Dear Rose," said Adelaide, putting her arm around her friend and kissing her cheek affectionately, "don't think of these things; religion is too gloomy for one so young as you."
"Gloomy, dear Adelaide!" replied Rose, returning the embrace; "I never knew what true happiness was until I found Jesus. My sins often make me sad, but religion, never.
A glimpse of Elsie's mammy:
"I's only a poor old black sinner, but de good Lord Jesus, He loves me jes de same as if I was white, an' I love Him an' all His chillen with all my heart." (15)
A glimpse of Elsie's relationship with her dad:
"I am very sorry I was naughty, papa. Will you please forgive me?" The words were spoken very low, and almost with a sob.
"Will you try not to meddle in future, and not to cry at the table, or pout and sulk when you are punished?" he asked in a cold, grave tone.
"Yes, sir, I will try to be a good girl always," said the humble little voice.
"Then I will forgive you," he replied, taking the handkerchief off her hand.
Still Elsie lingered. She felt as if she could not go without some little token of forgiveness and love, some slight caress.
He looked at her with an impatient "Well?" Then, in answer to her mute request, "No," he said, "I will not kiss you to-night; you have been entirely too naughty. Go to your room at once."
Aunt Chloe was absolutely frightened by the violence of her child's grief, as she rushed into the room and flung herself into her arms weeping and sobbing most vehemently.
"What's de matter, darlin'?" she asked in great alarm.
"O mammy, mammy!" sobbed the child, "papa wouldn't kiss me! he said I was too naughty. O mammy! will he ever love me now?" (92)
And then there's this infuriating scene:
"What is the matter?" he asked, looking up as they appeared before the door.
"Elsie has been very impertinent, sir," said Miss Day; "she not only accused me of injustice, but contradicted me flatly."
"Is it possible!" said he, frowning angrily. "Come here to me, Elsie, and tell me, is it true that you contradicted your teacher?"
"Yes, papa," sobbed the child.
"Very well, then, I shall certainly punish you, for I will never allow anything of the kind."
As he spoke he picked up a small ruler that lay before him, at the same time taking Elsie's hand as though he meant to use it on her.
"O papa!" she cried, in a tone of agonized entreaty.
But he laid it down again, saying: "No, I shall punish you by depriving you of your play this afternoon, and giving you only bread and water for your dinner. Sit down there," he added, pointing to a stool. Then, with a wave of his hand to the governess, "I think she will not be guilty of the like again, Miss Day."
The governess left the room, and Elsie sat down on her stool, crying and sobbing violently, while her father went on with his writing.
"Elsie," he said, presently, "cease that noise; I have had quite enough of it."
She struggled to suppress her sobs, but it was almost impossible, and she felt it a great relief when a moment later the dinner-bell rang, and her father left the room.
In a few moments a servant came in, carrying on a small waiter a tumbler of water, and a plate with a slice of bread on it.
"Dis am drefful poor fare, Miss Elsie," he said, setting it down beside her, "but Massa Horace he say it all you can hab; but if you say so, dis chile tell ole Phoebe to send up somethin' better fore Massa Horace gits through his dinner."
"Oh! no, thank you, Pompey; you're very kind, but I would not disobey or deceive papa," replied the little girl, earnestly; "and I am not at all hungry."
He lingered a moment, seeming loath to leave her to dine upon such fare.
"You had better go now, Pompey," she said gently; "I am afraid you will be wanted."
He turned and left the room, muttering something about "disagreeable, good-for-nothing Miss Day!"
Elsie felt no disposition to eat; and when her father returned, half an hour afterward, the bread and water were still untouched.
"What is the meaning of this?" he asked in a stern, angry tone; "why have you not eaten what I sent you?"
"I am not hungry, papa," she said humbly.
"Don't tell me that," he replied, "it is nothing but stubbornness; and I shall not allow you to show such a temper. Take up that bread this moment and eat it. You shall eat every crumb of the bread and drink every drop of the water."
She obeyed him instantly, breaking off a bit of bread and putting it in her mouth, while he stood watching her with an air of stern, cold determination; but when she attempted to swallow, it seemed utterly impossible.
"I cannot, papa," she said, "it chokes me."
"You must," he replied; "I am going to be obeyed. Take a drink of water, and that will wash it down."
It was a hard task, but seeing that there was no escape, she struggled to obey, and at length every crumb of bread and drop of water had disappeared.
"Now, Elsie," said her father, in a tone of great severity, "never dare to show me such a temper as this again; you will not escape so easily next time; remember I am to be obeyed always; and when I send you anything to eat, you are to eat it."
It had not been temper at all, and his unjust severity almost broke her heart; but she could not say one word in her own defence.
He looked at her a moment as she sat there trembling and weeping; then saying, "I forbid you to leave this room without my permission; don't venture to disobey me, Elsie; sit where you are until I return," he turned to go.
"Papa," she asked, pleadingly, "may I have my books, to learn my lessons for to-morrow."
"Certainly," he said; "I will send a servant with them."
"And my Bible too, please, papa."
"Yes, yes," he answered impatiently, as he went out and shut the door. (99-101)
A word from Elsie herself:
"Dear papa, I love you so much!" she replied, twining her arms around his neck. "I love you all the better for never letting me have my own way, but always making me obey and keep to rules." (164)
© 2013 Becky Laney of
Becky's Book Reviews
Pollyanna Grows Up. Eleanor H. Porter. 1915. 304 pages.
In January, I read Pollyanna and loved it. I definitely wanted to read the sequel. The novel begins with a nurse (Della Wetherby) visiting her cranky (grieving) sister (Mrs. Carew). The nurse is wishing that her sister could meet Pollyanna. She's bold enough to write to Pollyanna's guardians (aunt and uncle) to ask them to send Pollyanna to visit Mrs. Carew in Boston. As the couple is about to go to Germany, they agree that Pollyanna can remain behind and go and stay with Mrs. Carew for a year. The first half of this sequel is about her year in Boston: the friends she makes, the experiences she has, etc. The second half of the novel is about Pollyanna when she is grown up (20+).
Mrs. Carew is a wealthy, cranky widow. Her "good excuse" for being cranky and shutting the world out is that she is mourning the loss of her nephew, Jamie. After Jamie's parents died, she lost all contact with the young child. She was never able to find out what happened to him, where he went, who took him in, etc. He 'vanished' from her life and she desperately wanted to adopt him and raise him herself. She's searched and searched but to no avail.
Will Pollyanna change Mrs. Carew? Perhaps the better question is HOW MUCH will she change Mrs. Carew's life?
Pollyanna Grows Up offered few surprises. I was able to predict almost everything that happened in this one. That didn't make it less compelling. I was guessing something specific and I had to wait and wait and wait and wait for it. So it ended up keeping me reading all the same. I didn't love everything about this one. There are a couple of awkward scenes between Pollyanna and Jimmy Bean. I liked seeing Pollyanna in Boston, and I enjoyed seeing her perspective on the world change throughout the novel. How her eyes were opened to the misfortunes of others and the very real dangers that others faced on a day-to-day basis. Readers meet Jamie, a boy who can't walk, and Sadie, an (honest) working girl who is afraid of being noticed
too much by all the wrong people.
I long ago discovered that you can't TELL about Pollyanna. The minute you try to, she sounds priggish and preachy, and--impossible. Yet you and I know she is anything but that. (10)
"Aunt Polly is all stirred up over it. You see, she wants Uncle Tom to have what he wants, only she wants him to want what she wants him to want. See?" Mrs. Carew laughed suddenly. (22)
Have you read Pollyanna Grows Up? Did you enjoy it as much as Pollyanna? Would you recommend it? What did you think of Pollyanna and Jimmy Bean and the conclusions they make about each other?
© 2013 Becky Laney of
Becky's Book Reviews
Anne of Avonlea. L.M. Montgomery. 1909. 304 pages.
Anne of Avonlea is a delightful book. Anne may be a young woman just beginning her teaching career, but she's still in many ways so very young. In Anne of Avonlea, readers
- meet Anne, Diana, Gilbert, Fred, and others in the A.V.I.S society, reading of their adventures and misadventures in "improving" the village
- meet Mr. Harrison and his parrot, Ginger, they also learn Mr. Harrison's BIG secret which is only revealed AFTER the big, big storm prophesied by an eccentric man...
- see Anne as BIG SISTER to the twins Davy and Dora, orphans that Marilla adopted early in this second book; Anne has to ANSWER hundreds and hundreds of questions to satisfy a young Davy
- see Anne become teacher of the Avonlea school; seeing Anne struggle between her theories and actual practice. Will she tame Anthony Pye? Also we meet the teacher's pet, Paul Irving.
- meet Miss Lavendar and Charlotta the Fourth.
Because of Marilla's failing eyesight, Anne has decided not to go away to college, instead she'll be teaching at the school in Avonlea. When she's not busy teaching, she's spending time with her friends--old and young. Her best friend, of course, is Diana Barry. While some guys may have started falling in love with Anne and wanting her attention, Anne has no time at all for
her own romance. Gilbert judges correctly that Anne is not ready for any declarations of love from him...or anyone, and so he's patiently giving her all the time she needs, just happy to be her good friend. Readers may be anxious for Anne to grow up and see the obvious: Gilbert is THE ONE. But Anne is not in a hurry to be an adult. And I think that's for the best.
My favorite part of Anne of Avonlea is Davy. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Davy (and Dora). I think the twins bring a glorious liveliness to Green Gables. I love seeing Anne with the kids, especially with Davy. I love seeing her nurture him, and I love hearing all her explanations to his 'why' questions.
Have you read Anne of Avonlea? Did you enjoy it? Were you disappointed?
Mr. Harrison about Mrs. Rachel Lynde:
"I detest that woman more than anybody I know. She can put a whole sermon, text, comment, and application, into six words, and throw it at you like a brick."
"I never was much of a talker till I came to Avonlea and then I had to begin in self-defense or Mrs. Lynde would have said I was dumb and started a subscription to have me taught sign language."
Fun with Davy:
"Anne," said Davy, sitting up in bed and propping his chin on his hands, "Anne, where is sleep? People go to sleep every night, and of course I know it's the place where I do the things I dream, but I want to know WHERE it is and how I get there and back without knowing anything about it...and in my nighty too. Where is it?"
"I wish people could live on pudding. Why can't they, Marilla? I want to know."
"Because they'd soon get tired of it."
"I'd like to try that for myself," said skeptical Davy.
Paul Irving to Anne:
"I've prayed every night that God would give me enough grace to enable me to eat every bit of my porridge in the mornings. But I've never been able to do it yet, and whether it's because I have too little grace or too much porridge I really can't decide."
Favorite quotes:
"You're never safe from being surprised till you're dead."
“One can't get over the habit of being a little girl all at once.”
“After all," Anne had said to Marilla once, "I believe the nicest and sweetest days are not those on which anything very splendid or wonderful or exciting happens but just those that bring simple little pleasures, following one another softly, like pearls slipping off a string.”
“Anne had no sooner uttered the phrase, "home o'dreams," than it captivated her fancy and she immediately began the erection of one of her own. It was, of course, tenanted by an ideal master, dark, proud, and melancholy; but oddly enough, Gilbert Blythe persisted in hanging about too, helping her arrange pictures, lay out gardens, and accomplish sundry other tasks which a proud and melancholy hero evidently considered beneath his dignity. Anne tried to banish Gilbert's image from her castle in Spain but, somehow, he went on being there, so Anne, being in a hurry, gave up the attempt and pursued her aerial architecture with such success that her "home o'dreams" was built and furnished before Diana spoke again. ”
“…I think,' concluded Anne, hitting on a very vital truth, 'that we always love best the people who need us.”
“When I think something nice is going to happen I seem to fly right up on the wings of anticipation; and then the first thing I realize I drop down to earth with a thud. But really, Marilla, the flying part is glorious as long as it lasts...it's like soaring through a sunset. I think it almost pays for the thud.”
“It takes all sorts of people to make a world, as I've often heard, but I think there are some who could be spared,' Anne told her reflection in the east gable mirror that night.”
"If we have friends we should look only for the best in them and give them the best that is in us, don't you think? Then friendship would be the most beautiful thing in the world."
"In this world you've just got to hope for the best and prepare for the worst and take whatever God sends."
© 2013 Becky Laney of
Becky's Book Reviews
The Secret Garden. Frances Hodgson Burnett. 1911. 302 pages.
Mary Lennox is a perfectly flawed heroine. (She's no Pollyanna or Heidi!) Readers meet the newly orphaned Mary, and she's not exactly easy to love being quite spoiled and bratty. One gets the idea that while plenty (in India) have obeyed the young girl's orders (or wishes) none at all have bothered to love her or even like her. So her arrival in England, in Yorkshire, to her uncle Archibald Craven's estate shocks her a bit. But given the right opportunities and circumstances, Mary transforms dramatically. She discovers that life is worth living and that people are worth loving. Her hate melts away the more time she spends outdoors, the more time she spends in the gardens, the more time she spends with Dickon. And she becomes quite the influence on her cousin, Colin, a young misunderstood boy. Colin is quite the tyrant when readers first meet him. He's prone to fits and tantrums. He's all DRAMA. But Mary, well, Mary essentially tells him to grow up! Don't be so ridiculous!
Is The Secret Garden a character driven book? I'm not sure it is. The "Magic" of the "secret garden" is at the center of this one. It is the natural world, the beauty and wonder of Nature, of all growing and living things that makes this book memorable. It is the "secret garden" that helps to transform Mary and Colin. The book itself is constantly singing the praises of Nature, of being one with the natural world, of finding your place within the Magic.
Mary Lennox may not be as sweet and innocent as Heidi, Pollyanna, or even Anne, but, she is memorable in her own way! The way she interacts with Colin is effective even if it might not be the way Heidi or Pollyanna would have done it! And Mary isn't the only memorable character. Colin and Dickon are both interesting characters. Oh, how Mary absolutely idolizes Dickon! Mary isn't as mesmerized by Colin perhaps, but they are so similar to one another in a way. I think that is why Mary is able to help him when no one else can.
“The Secret Garden was what Mary called it when she was thinking of it. She liked the name, and she liked still more the feeling that when its beautiful old walls shut her in no one knew where she was. It seemed almost like being shut out of the world in some fairy place. The few books she had read and liked had been fairy-story books, and she had read of secret gardens in some of the stories. Sometimes people went to sleep in them for a hundred years, which she had thought must be rather stupid. She had no intention of going to sleep, and, in fact, she was becoming wider awake every day which passed at Misselthwaite.”
“One of the new things people began to find out in the last century was that thoughts—just mere thoughts—are as powerful as electric batteries—as good for one as sunlight is, or as bad for one as poison. To let a sad thought or a bad one get into your mind is as dangerous as letting a scarlet fever germ get into your body. If you let it stay there after it has got in you may never get over it as long as you live... surprising things can happen to any one who, when a disagreeable or discouraged thought comes into his mind, just has the sense to remember in time and push it out by putting in an agreeable determinedly courageous one. Two things cannot be in one place. Where you tend a rose, my lad, A thistle cannot grow.”
© 2013 Becky Laney of
Becky's Book Reviews
Heidi. Johanna Spyri. 1880/2009. Puffin Classics/Penguin. 320 pages.
I first read Heidi in the
summer of 2011, and I just LOVED it. I knew it was a book I would want to reread again and again. I became kindred spirits with a book heroine,
Hannah, when she had this to say about Heidi:
My favorite thing in the world to do is read a book. I read Heidi, which I love, then I read another book, then I read Heidi again. If I stopped reading Heidi in between the other books, I'd be able to read twice as many books, but the thing is I like reading Heidi. So I do.
There is something comfortable and satisfying and lovely about Heidi. Heidi is a nearly flawless heroine whose goodness and love prove transformational to those around her. Heidi, like Anne and Pollyanna, is an orphan. She's not quite all alone in the world, however. She has an aunt who has tired of her, an aunt who wants to be rid of her when it's convenient, yet, who wants to push her way back into her life when opportunity arises. All for Pollyanna's own good mind you--if you believe that coming from her. Of course, no matter the reason her aunt brings her to her grandfather, the truth is that it is ultimately the best for her. Heidi loves and adores her grandfather, accepts him just as he is and loves him unconditionally. And oh how he loves her, needs her! Heidi heals his heart, transforms his life in so many ways! And Heidi brings (new) life to others on the mountain as well. In particular, Peter's blind grandmother! Heidi has a big heart and so much love to give! And her compassion for others is remarkable, she seems to feel others sorrows as deeply as her own.
But Heidi's perfect life with her grandfather is challenged when her aunt returns knowing what is best for her. Heidi will be companion to a wealthy little girl, Clara, in the big city. She'll learn to read and write, her manners will be polished. It's an opportunity of a lifetime, even if it breaks two people's hearts. Yet even in sorrow there is joy and hope. For Heidi continues to be Heidi. She becomes close with Clara, and even close to Clara's grandmother! She also impresses Clara's doctor and Clara's father. I really, really LOVED the scenes between Heidi and Clara's grandmother. I loved how the grandmother teaches Heidi how to read, but more importantly teaches her about the Lord. The life lessons she teaches Heidi on faith and prayer are AMAZING.
Mrs. Sesemann had noticed the child's unhappiness, but let a few days pass by, hoping for a change. But the change never came, and often Heidi's eyes were red even in the early morning. So she called the child to her room one day and said, with great sympathy in her voice: "Tell me, Heidi, what is the matter with you? What is making you so sad?"
But as Heidi did not want to appear thankless, she replied sadly: "I can't tell you."
"No? Can't you tell Clara perhaps?"
"Oh, no, I can't tell anyone," Heidi said, looking so unhappy that the old lady's heart was filled with pity.
"I tell you something, little girl," she continued. "If you have a sorrow that you cannot tell to anyone, you can go to Our Father in Heaven. You can tell Him everything that troubles you, and if we ask Him, He can help us and take our suffering away. Do you understand me, child? Don't you pray every night? Don't you thank Him for all His gifts and ask Him to protect you from evil?"
"Oh no, I never do that," replied the child.
"Have you never prayed, Heidi? Do you know what I mean?"
"I only prayed with my first grandmother, but it is so long ago, that I have forgotten."
"See, Heidi, I understand now why you are so unhappy. We all need somebody to help us, and just think how wonderful it is, to be able to go to the Lord, when something distresses us and causes us pain. We can tell Him everything and ask Him to comfort us, when nobody else can do it. He can give us happiness and joy."
Heidi was gladdened by these tidings, and asked: "Can we tell Him everything, everything?"
"Yes, Heidi, everything."
The child, withdrawing her hand from the grandmama, said hurriedly, "Can I go now?"
"Yes, of course," was the reply, and with this Heidi ran to her room. Sitting down on a stool she folded her hands and poured out her heart to God, imploring Him to help her and let her go home to her grandfather.
and much later...
When Clara and Heidi were lying in their beds that night, glancing up at the shining stars, Heidi remarked: "Didn't you think to-day, Clara, that it is fortunate God does not always give us what we pray for fervently, because He knows of something better?"
"What do you mean, Heidi?" asked Clara.
"You see, when I was in Frankfurt I prayed and prayed to come home again, and when I couldn't, I thought He had forgotten me. But if I had gone away so soon you would never have come here and would never have got well."
Clara, becoming thoughtful, said: "But, Heidi, then we could not pray for anything any more, because we would feel that He always knows of something better."
"But, Clara, we must pray to God every day to show we don't forget that all gifts come from Him."
And Heidi is then able not to only draw close to God herself, to learn to trust Him more and more, but she's able to reach out to others in their sorrows, in their brokenness and speak healing words of faith. She's able to minister to others because her own life has been changed. She's able to reach out to both her grandfather and Clara's doctor in their brokenness--speaking tender words of love and affection, offering hope and peace. And those scenes were so beautiful, so touching to me.
I loved so many characters in Heidi. I didn't exactly love Peter, her friend on the mountain. He provides contrast to Heidi's perfection, I suppose, being greedy, selfish, jealous, and lazy. He was definitely no Gilbert Blythe!
Favorite quotes:
“God certainly knows of some happiness for us which He is going to bring out of the trouble, only we must have patience and not run away. And then all at once something happens and we see clearly ourselves that God has had some good thought in His mind all along; but because we cannot see things beforehand, and only know how dreadfully miserable we are, we think it is always going to be so.”
“We must never forget to pray, and to ask God to remember us when He is arranging things, so that we too may feel safe and have no anxiety about what is going to happen.”
I happened to be reading Heidi around the same time I was reading the story of Joseph from the book of Genesis, and I couldn't help but notice how Heidi teaches some of the same lessons: God has us in situations that we wouldn't necessarily choose for ourselves, but, God knows best and is working His best for us.
Have you read Heidi? What did you think? Do you have a favorite character? A favorite scene? A favorite quote? How do you think Heidi compares with Anne Shirley and Pollyanna?
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© 2013 Becky Laney of
Becky's Book Reviews
I read this one when I was growing up, and read it to my oldest two daughters. Seeing your review reminds me I need to read it to my youngest...it is a great book.
I definitely need to reread this book. Thanks for your review reminding me.
I remember this series with great affection. I discovered it as an adult when I read it to my kids.