Here we are with the final books for May!!! Hopefully this book blog will get back on track this summer!!
NOTE: I wrote most of these a week or two ago… still trying to get May’s reviews published before July starts!
King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry – 5*
//published 1948//
I read a lot of children’s books in May (and this pattern has carried over into June) as life was very busy and I was looking for quick, simple reads. Most of them were rereads from many moons ago, and King of the Wind was no exception. Regular readers of my blog may recall that Henry was one of my favorite childhood authors, and I read King of the Wind probably a dozen times growing up – but then hadn’t read it in, oh, probably 20 years! I wasn’t sure if the story would hold up, but I shouldn’t have worried. The combination of Henry’s storytelling and Wesley Dennis’s drawings worked its magic yet again!
This tale is, as are many of Henry’s stories, a mixture of fact and legend. The story is about a horse named Sham and the boy who cared for him, Agba, and the tale begins in Morocco, where Agba works as a stable boy. The sultan decides to send several of his fastest stallions to the king of France as a gift, with a stable boy in charge of each horse, and so Agba and Sham begin their journey together. Legend says that Sham, later known as the Goldophin Arabian, became one of the founding stallions of the Thoroughbred breed – every Thoroughbred can trace its lineage back to one of three stallions, one of which is the Goldophin Arabian. Sham and Agba have many ups and downs in their journey, as Sham’s worth isn’t recognized at first, making an engaging and interesting story.
The Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie – 4*
//published 1928//
This is one of those Hercule Poirot stories where Poirot doesn’t come into it until about halfway through. Sometimes that annoys me, but it worked with this story, although it’s always difficult when the reader (theoretically) knows more about what’s going on than the detective, because we’re privy to scenes and conversations were the detective isn’t. Still, the mystery is a good one, and Poirot is at his most pompous. If you love Poirot because of his Poirot-isms, this one is definitely worth the read.
Little Gods by Meng Jin – 2.5*
//published 1972//
Another bust for the traveling book club, Little Gods was unbelievably depressing. (Don’t worry, for the next round of traveling book club, I signed up for romcoms and fantasy, so hopefully I’ll get some books that don’t make me dread picking them up!) This was a weird story told from random viewpoints (and written without quotation marks, why) about (??? sort of???) a young woman whose mother has died, and now the young woman is journeying back to China to try and find out more about her mother. In many ways, the book is way more about the mother, who was a brilliant scientist (although not so brilliant at relationships). Throughout, there is loads of scientific theory (so boring, and basically felt like the author showing off how intelligent she is) that really bogged the story down. Literally zero characters were remotely likable. Every single parent hated their children, and every single child hated its parents. No relationships actually were built on respect or love or anything like that – everyone was just in it for what they could get out of it, and, big surprise, none of them worked out. It felt like there was no point to this story (or at least not one that I could find), and I thought it was never going to end.
That said, there was some lovely writing in between the science, and while the characters were thoroughly unlikable, they were well drawn. For people who actually like Novels, in all their grimness, there may be something to like here.
Borgel by Daniel Pinkwater – 4.5*
//published 1990//
It had been way, way too long since I had picked up a Pinkwater book. His books are basically impossible to describe, and definitely aren’t for everyone, as they are full of absolute nonsense. In this one, a boy ends up traveling through space, time, and other with his uncle (who may not actually be related) and his dog (who is super grumpy). If you’ve ever thought that maybe time was like a map of New Jersey and space was like a poppyseed bagel, this may be the book for you. It’s also a great read if you love popsicles.
Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster – 4.5*
//published 1912//
I really love this epistolary novel, published way back in 1912. Judy has grown up in an orphanage, but is now old enough to be sent out on her own. One of the trustees, who desires to remain anonymous, decides to send Judy to college because he has read one of her English papers from high school and believes she has talent that should be cultivated. While he pays for everything, he asks that in return Judy write him one letter a month to update him on her progress, stating that letter-writing is an excellent way to develop creative writing skills. Thus, the entire book, except for the introductory chapter, is comprised of Judy’s letters to her benefactor, whom she has never met and only saw in shadow as he was leaving – a shadow that looked like it was made entirely of long legs and arms, leading to her nickname for him, Daddy-Long-Legs.
This book is honestly just plain delightful. Judy is going to girls’ college (no coed at the time), but has never really spent so much time around “regular” girls, so much of her education is more than just reading, writing, and ‘rithmetic. Her enthusiasm for life and adventure, and lack of family, means that she writes to Daddy-Long-Legs far more than once a month, and her warmth (and illustrations) make for wonderful reading. For me, the only thing that keeps this from being a full five stars is that there is one point in this story where Daddy-Long-Legs feels a smidge manipulative, which makes me a little uncomfortable, but in the end it’s just such a fun story, and Judy is such a wonderful character, that I’ve read this one time and again.
Dear Enemy by Jean Webster – 5*
//published 1915//
The sequel to Daddy-Long-Legs, I honestly love Dear Enemy even more. The story centers on Judy’s best friend from college, Sallie McBride (who is also the writer of all the letters in this book). Judy has purchased the orphanage where she grew up and hires Sallie to help turn it into a happy, healthy place to raise children instead of the sad institution it has always been. Sallie is a wonderful character who really matures throughout the story. I love how she wants be a frivolous person who doesn’t do anything useful, but her natural inclination to care for others and do a job well slowly takes over. The romance in this story is also done so very well, and I really appreciated Webster’s exploration into the difference between a relationship built on mutual trust and respect and one built on an exchange of desires (i.e. you be my nice society wife and I will provide you with money and nice clothes). Considering when this book was published, it was a rather bold statement to make, that a woman could and even should look for more from a marriage than mere financial security, yet Webster also doesn’t go too far – she still treats marriage as a delightful partnership when done right.
This story is full of escapades and adventures and Sallie’s temper and I love every page – highly recommended.
The Aroma of Books 