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4.16 AVERAGE
4.16 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
informative
mysterious
tense
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
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I read this book repeatedly and voraciously as a child, and somehow, like all the books of my childhood that I pick up as an adult, it still managed to surprise me. I forgot the twist ending, completely, and the adventure of it all stuck in my memory, more than Claudia's internal struggle with uniqueness. Most kids I know like adventure stories, and I was no different, but growing up in the 2000s, reading a book written in the 1960s and republished in 1995 (which I believe was the edition I had) - a time before the surveillance state in which we currently live - From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler was the first adventure I'd ever read that felt plausible to me. The children felt real with Claudia's pedantry around grammar and Jamie's penchant for cheating at cards, just as the setting felt real in its familiarity. It had me looking into corners on museum field trips, wondering where, if at all, I could stash my possessions, and how many days worth of groceries, clothes, etc. I could cram into my backpack without looking suspicious. While there are a good many books that shaped me into the adult I am today, From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, alongside a select few, is at the root of why you can always find a spare set of clothes in my car, quarters for the laundromat in my bag, and an mp3 player with radio capabilities in my pocket.
Content Warnings
A note: One of the other books that shaped my general level of over preparedness is The Mysterious Benedict Society.
Also, I recommend, if you can find it, reading the 35th anniversary edition of the book. The author's afterword is worth it.
While reading this book I fell in love with reading for the very first time.
i regularly reread this book from my childhood, it’s so good and genuinely a classic
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-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
This was one of my favorite books as a kid and it was such a joy to read it again.
Really cute little book. Short and sweet enough to be a children's book, with every page somehow dripping with humor, emotion, and nostalgia, even if my lived experiences were vastly different from those of the main characters.
My mom (an avid reader herself) insisted I read this book before a recent trip to NYC and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I found a guy reading the entirety of the book on YouTube, and began listening while doing my chores. I finished it in just a few sittings over the span of a few days, and it somehow made me think differently at a few points of our trip. At one point in the museum where there's an ornate bedroom set up with incredible antique furniture, I had to snap a picture just so I could send it to my mom! As a kid I'm sure I would've imagined myself staying there like in this book. As an adult, I'm just wondering who dusts and vacuums behind the velvet ropes. Reading this and then visiting the museum was a really nice frolick through thinking like a child again. I recommend it for sure!
My mom (an avid reader herself) insisted I read this book before a recent trip to NYC and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I found a guy reading the entirety of the book on YouTube, and began listening while doing my chores. I finished it in just a few sittings over the span of a few days, and it somehow made me think differently at a few points of our trip. At one point in the museum where there's an ornate bedroom set up with incredible antique furniture, I had to snap a picture just so I could send it to my mom! As a kid I'm sure I would've imagined myself staying there like in this book. As an adult, I'm just wondering who dusts and vacuums behind the velvet ropes. Reading this and then visiting the museum was a really nice frolick through thinking like a child again. I recommend it for sure!