courtneystrom 's review for:

Cornelia and the Audacious Escapades of the Somerset Sisters by Lesley M.M. Blume

4.5

adventurous inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Cornelia S. Englehart lives in a wonderful world of complicated words, intentionally isolated from people who don’t quite understand her. When Virginia Somerset moves in next door with Patel and Mister Kinyatta Cornelia allows herself to be led into the world Virginia creates, where adventure and love are plentiful. Although constantly ready to flee back into her cocoon of words with numerous syllables, Cornelia realizes that the world is a much more exhilarating place than she thought - and that words can bring people together. It gives young readers a great introduction to the feeling of wanderlust, nostalgia, and adventure.

For me, this book is more than just a book. It is the book that made me fall in love with books. I related to Cornelia in more ways than I can admit, and I’ve found myself coming back to Cornelia and Virginia for years, ever since I was struck by the cover at Barnes and Noble more than 15 years ago. There are times, though, reading it through adult eyes, that the characters of color feel formulaic and a little bit “token”. So it hasn’t aged as well as I’d hope.