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4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This audio version took me back to my childhood, over the years I have read the Enid Blyton books many times so it’s nice to have them coming out on audio. Even as an adult I still enjoy my child/tween favourites, especially those written by Enid. The narrator reads these well and I enjoyed listening to it.
I can remember reading this..I can remember the absolute thrill at the idea of running away..I loved my family but still that urge to eat Angel delight all day, live under sunshine and canvas and do whatever you want was so strong…
Nora, Peggy and Mike are living with their cruel Aunt and Uncle because their parents took off in a plane which went down (this was a bit of a theme in July given I have been reading Great Circle!). Forced to do all the housework, beaten and scolded, they are desperate to escape…and jump at the chance of running away to a secret island with Jack a young boy with a cow and lots of useful stuff!!
I loved revisiting Mallory Towers but I struggled with Secret Island..oh my goodness how different it felt. If if wasn’t only 157 pages it might have been a dnf!
The island stuff was fab! My goodness their house building was worthy of Grand Designs, their cooking and life skills would delight Bear Grylls…we get blow by blow accounts of what the children ate every day, how they built their willow house and how they kept themselves safe from attack - it’s almost a manual for runaways!
What I couldn’t lose was the adult in me. All the whipping and scolding, red faces and unhappy children who weren’t receiving any education!! I was asking myself - Where were social services, education attendance officers….??
Again, Disbelievingly, I watched all the provisions piled up under a secret tree day after day (how did anyone not notice) somehow fit onto a leaky old boat…which later managed to carry across a cow..
The voice of the author is rather too visible in this story..Blyton uses Nora as a vehicle for some behaviour lessons - Nora is lazy, neglectful, ‘didn’t bother to look very hard..If she had looked carefully, as she should have done..’ and frequently I found this moral tone rather jarring.
Nora, Peggy and Mike are living with their cruel Aunt and Uncle because their parents took off in a plane which went down (this was a bit of a theme in July given I have been reading Great Circle!). Forced to do all the housework, beaten and scolded, they are desperate to escape…and jump at the chance of running away to a secret island with Jack a young boy with a cow and lots of useful stuff!!
I loved revisiting Mallory Towers but I struggled with Secret Island..oh my goodness how different it felt. If if wasn’t only 157 pages it might have been a dnf!
The island stuff was fab! My goodness their house building was worthy of Grand Designs, their cooking and life skills would delight Bear Grylls…we get blow by blow accounts of what the children ate every day, how they built their willow house and how they kept themselves safe from attack - it’s almost a manual for runaways!
What I couldn’t lose was the adult in me. All the whipping and scolding, red faces and unhappy children who weren’t receiving any education!! I was asking myself - Where were social services, education attendance officers….??
Again, Disbelievingly, I watched all the provisions piled up under a secret tree day after day (how did anyone not notice) somehow fit onto a leaky old boat…which later managed to carry across a cow..
The voice of the author is rather too visible in this story..Blyton uses Nora as a vehicle for some behaviour lessons - Nora is lazy, neglectful, ‘didn’t bother to look very hard..If she had looked carefully, as she should have done..’ and frequently I found this moral tone rather jarring.
stop i’m not going to add every enid blyton book because then i would add like 50 but this was my all time favorite
Timeless childrens classic. My mom borrowed me her copy, which she got over 50 years ago.
I love these children and Daisy is so hilarious:)
I love these children and Daisy is so hilarious:)
One of my absolute favourite childhood books and it didn't disappoint again with this reread at the age of 31!
What I realize about The Secret Island is the juxtaposition of being grounded (in reality) and escapism. The harsh, bleak, unkind, hopeless, scary, and tantalizing reality and situation of the four kids - Jack, Peggy and Nora and (?) Peter are both impossible and easy to solve. Heaven is just a secret door away from hell. The preachy tone of Enid Blyton is kept sedated, which improves the flow of the adventure. I really liked the kids. I enjoyed the fairy tale ending of this book - it was so cozy... an ending that I'm showing mentally to dunce like cozies that can only dream of aspiring to Enid Blyton's excellence. Can't wait to read the Secret Of Spiggly Holes.