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A review by bookstakenzie
A Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton-Porter
3.0
The writing style of this book is packed with warmth and imagery, and it transports you to another time and place. We follow Elnora, who is a sweet character full of integrity, although she is sometimes flat in that she can do no wrong. The main themes of this book are learning how to become more loving and caring people, and the theme of naturalism, as nature is the focal point of Elnora's adventures. This book is a really great choice for a quick classic read.
One great aspect of this book is that it explored multiple character perspectives, and shows how these characters can change for the better, and how they can fix relationship issues by reinterpreting actions and intents of others in a better light. The author gives many characters emotional backgrounds that they have turmoil and realizations through, some of them processing trauma to become better people. There are some issues with this lacking nuance, depth, and realism which is further explained below. This doesn't hinder the quality of the whole book, but you may want to keep your brain engaged while reading.
Spoilers for character arc issues:
I have a few small issues with the execution of these ideas: for one, the character issues of the mother are fixed in complete 180°, which is problematic. The mother's parenting is by modern day knowledge abusive, and there is parentification of the main character. Because the mother has a 180° change from mean to the most perfect nice mother ever, this can discredit the traumatic effects on Elnora, and promote the idea that if you stick with abusers they will eventually change for you. The author attempts painting psycho and emotional backgrounds for characters and then reversing them to change them to a realized state. The intention is good, but because of the time period and the length of the book, it lack nuances and realism, showing the amount of depth you might see in a comedic play. This doesn't negate the whole book, however I would recommend reading it with your brain turned on and referencing other educational resources, so that you can enjoy the character arcs, but analyze/apply them in a better way.
One great aspect of this book is that it explored multiple character perspectives, and shows how these characters can change for the better, and how they can fix relationship issues by reinterpreting actions and intents of others in a better light. The author gives many characters emotional backgrounds that they have turmoil and realizations through, some of them processing trauma to become better people. There are some issues with this lacking nuance, depth, and realism which is further explained below. This doesn't hinder the quality of the whole book, but you may want to keep your brain engaged while reading.
Spoilers for character arc issues:
I have a few small issues with the execution of these ideas: for one, the character issues of the mother are fixed in complete 180°, which is problematic. The mother's parenting is by modern day knowledge abusive, and there is parentification of the main character. Because the mother has a 180° change from mean to the most perfect nice mother ever, this can discredit the traumatic effects on Elnora, and promote the idea that if you stick with abusers they will eventually change for you. The author attempts painting psycho and emotional backgrounds for characters and then reversing them to change them to a realized state. The intention is good, but because of the time period and the length of the book, it lack nuances and realism, showing the amount of depth you might see in a comedic play. This doesn't negate the whole book, however I would recommend reading it with your brain turned on and referencing other educational resources, so that you can enjoy the character arcs, but analyze/apply them in a better way.