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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
this novel is more of a creature comfort, whilst i’ve been unwell and doing exams, than it is anything of literary value.
there’s some really fucking weird stuff with age and with “feminine characteristics” but i basically overlook that because i’ve been reading this book for years. it probably wouldn’t be in any way appealing to a modern audience though, especially if you have no nostalgic attachment to this novel.
there is some amazing descriptive writing though! the nature, food and clothing that is described throughout the novel is luxurious and impressive.
there’s some really fucking weird stuff with age and with “feminine characteristics” but i basically overlook that because i’ve been reading this book for years. it probably wouldn’t be in any way appealing to a modern audience though, especially if you have no nostalgic attachment to this novel.
there is some amazing descriptive writing though! the nature, food and clothing that is described throughout the novel is luxurious and impressive.
I read this book because the movie "Secret of Moonacre" had such potential to be a better story. I was disappointed to find the story was totally different. The action was disappointing and it was more religious than magical. I liked that the book focused more on Robin but... I just like the movie version better where he's a black man who falls for her courage. Oh well.
J. K. Rowling loved it and C. S. Lewis stole from it, what else do you need to know? This is a book I read over and over as a kid, and rereading it now after maybe 15 years it still holds up as one of the most perfectly realized fairy tales I've ever seen. It's definitely the soothing bath kind of book where very little "happens" and there are for sure no children from dystopian zones trying to kill each other. Also you have to be okay with reading lots of descriptions of cake and silvery beech leaves in the moonlight, and there might be key plot points that hinge on pink geraniums. But, seriously, who doesn't love cake and beech leaves and pink geraniums? Besides Sir Benjamin, I mean.
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Up there with I Capture the Castle as one of the best children's books-not-really-for-children I've read. The preponderance of semi-magical animals (they don't go so far as talking but they are VERY in tune with the human characters) tilts this over into an animal fantasy, though its pat treatment of good and "wickedness" make it read like a fairy tale. Not so much for kids unfortunately -- the colorful, gorgeously detailed settings are meant to be savored, and so is the smart, tongue-in-cheek adult humor laced through the dialogue. It all ties up very happily and magically. A perfect read for sheer escape.
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The Little White Horse was a nostalgia read for me and it took me about 25 years to read the whole thing - whew! I had checked this out from my middle school library in (maybe?) 6th grade, had to return it, and then forgot the title and could never find it to finish it. The tragedy! All I could remember was "moon princess" which, come to find out, which wasn't even legit because Maria was a MOON MAIDEN. Jeez. Over 20 years later I finally found it when I read an interview with JK Rowling who named this as one of her favorite books. At last! I could finish it!
Things I enjoyed: it gave me fairy tale vibes and Anne of Green Gables vibes, both of which are good vibes, and I liked all the animals that rolled with her as her squad. I liked that Robin went to sleep sometimes and showed up as her playmate in London (astral projection??) and Miss Heliotrope stopped having indigestion later because there was no need for it.
Things I enjoyed less: there were a lot of religious overtones, which I hadn’t picked up on as a kid. It reminded me of when I reread A Wrinkle in Time as an adult and I thought, “Whoa, this is extra Christian.”
Also, the happy ending of this book is Maria
So, child me would've given this book 5 stars and adult me has given it 3 stars. This is just the way it is.
Things I enjoyed: it gave me fairy tale vibes and Anne of Green Gables vibes, both of which are good vibes, and I liked all the animals that rolled with her as her squad. I liked that Robin went to sleep sometimes and showed up as her playmate in London (astral projection??) and Miss Heliotrope stopped having indigestion later because there was no need for it.
Things I enjoyed less: there were a lot of religious overtones, which I hadn’t picked up on as a kid. It reminded me of when I reread A Wrinkle in Time as an adult and I thought, “Whoa, this is extra Christian.”
Also, the happy ending of this book is Maria
Spoiler
getting married at age 14 and having 10 kids. 1 million yikes for this. I get that the woman who wrote this book was born in 1900 so this perhaps is what a happy ending looked like back then (Anne of Green Gables gets married and has at least 7, I think) but child marriage and endless pregnancies sound like a living nightmare to me.So, child me would've given this book 5 stars and adult me has given it 3 stars. This is just the way it is.
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
Loveable characters:
Yes