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rebekahmorris's review
3.0
2.5 stars
I usually enjoy stories set in boarding schools, and the idea of one such school set in the Austrian alps caught my interest. However, I was somewhat disappointed.
Characters
While I did like some of the characters, it was really hard to get to know anyone very well since it seemed like they were always adding new girls. The story also doesn’t focus on one or two girls so the reader could get to know them. There were many times when I had no idea how old the girls were. Sometimes they seemed older, and other times I was sure they were younger. Some characters seemed to pop up out of nowhere, and I spent time puzzling my brain over who they were and where on earth they had come from.
Setting
You would think that a story set in the alps would have some wonderful descriptions. A few times it does. Other times I wasn’t quite sure just where the girls were. And the solitary climb up the mountain? It felt rather vague and not dangerous at all except in one spot. And I never got an image of the chalet in my head during the entire book. I know it had an upstairs, and some bigger rooms, but that’s about it.
Other things
Sprinkled throughout the book are French and German words as though the author expected all her readers to be familiar with them. Yes, I know this story was first published in England and maybe everyone there knows the words, but to me they were jolting. I did recognize a few words, one of which was swearing. I also didn’t care for the almost constant British slang. Did girls really talk like that in the 1920s? Maybe, but it didn’t add anything to the story, in my opinion.
The drama in this book was somewhat overdone. I could give a list of the events that were unrealistic, or improbable, but I won’t bother.
Overall, the story was okay. It was kind of fun, but I didn’t enjoy it enough to really want to read the rest of the 62 books. I might read the next story someday.
I usually enjoy stories set in boarding schools, and the idea of one such school set in the Austrian alps caught my interest. However, I was somewhat disappointed.
Characters
While I did like some of the characters, it was really hard to get to know anyone very well since it seemed like they were always adding new girls. The story also doesn’t focus on one or two girls so the reader could get to know them. There were many times when I had no idea how old the girls were. Sometimes they seemed older, and other times I was sure they were younger. Some characters seemed to pop up out of nowhere, and I spent time puzzling my brain over who they were and where on earth they had come from.
Setting
You would think that a story set in the alps would have some wonderful descriptions. A few times it does. Other times I wasn’t quite sure just where the girls were. And the solitary climb up the mountain? It felt rather vague and not dangerous at all except in one spot. And I never got an image of the chalet in my head during the entire book. I know it had an upstairs, and some bigger rooms, but that’s about it.
Other things
Sprinkled throughout the book are French and German words as though the author expected all her readers to be familiar with them. Yes, I know this story was first published in England and maybe everyone there knows the words, but to me they were jolting. I did recognize a few words, one of which was swearing. I also didn’t care for the almost constant British slang. Did girls really talk like that in the 1920s? Maybe, but it didn’t add anything to the story, in my opinion.
The drama in this book was somewhat overdone. I could give a list of the events that were unrealistic, or improbable, but I won’t bother.
Overall, the story was okay. It was kind of fun, but I didn’t enjoy it enough to really want to read the rest of the 62 books. I might read the next story someday.
debnanceatreaderbuzz's review
4.0
The first in a long-running popular series of stories centered on an English girls school in the Alps. Plenty of drama and fun characters to keep modern young readers interested, I think, with a Nancy Drew-like feel. 1001 Children’s Books You Must Read.
unreliablebooknerd's review
5.0
This book was time-killer!!! I couldn't put down and close it either.... Until my mom made me stop... Hahahahaha
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