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A review by bluestjuice
The Letter, the Witch, and the Ring by John Bellairs
4.0
As a continuation of the series begun in The House With a Clock in Its Walls, this is, I think, the most successful yet. The switch in focus from Lewis to Rose Rita is, I think, a wise one, if only because Rose Rita presents a more compelling, layered internal life than Lewis did. Some of this is perhaps due to her age; on the cusp of adolescence, she struggles with the constraints and expectations that places upon her, her place in the world, and her relationship and interactions with Lewis. Here too, her gender presents more obstacles than Lewis' does: while he struggles with what it means to not be an athlete in a world that expects athleticism and roughness from boys, Rose Rita struggles with what it means to be girl who does not want to act as girls are expected to act. Lewis has the desire to act like other boys but lacks the skill; Rose Rita, in contrast, is perfectly capable of acting like other girls but has differing ambitions and interests. I appreciated how subtly Bellairs presents an alternative portrayal of femininity in the person of Mrs. Zimmermann - this is not at all heavy-handed, but small details add up to a picture of a character who has not often led her life according to the expectations society places upon women. Even the character herself is light-touched about this, however: when she and Rose Rita have a few serious chats about Rose Rita's fears about growing up and concern that she will not be able to direct her life in a direction she would like, Mrs. Zimmermann has no smooth assurances or trite wisdom to offer her. Rather, she conveys an understanding that the future is full of many possibilities and that Rose Rita's best option is to remain open to change, and make the best choices she can, when they present themselves. It's exactly the sort of unpreachy good sense that I think best infiltrates children's literature.
As far as the ghost story/mystery, it is suitably mysterious, although not all that difficult to work out to a seasoned reader. Mostly it serves as an exciting backdrop to allow Rose Rita to flex her abilities and test her skills in various ways, which is largely what you want in a good coming-of-age novel. It's quite satisfying, and the continued presence of enormous quantities of chocolate chip cookies is not taken amiss, either.
As far as the ghost story/mystery, it is suitably mysterious, although not all that difficult to work out to a seasoned reader. Mostly it serves as an exciting backdrop to allow Rose Rita to flex her abilities and test her skills in various ways, which is largely what you want in a good coming-of-age novel. It's quite satisfying, and the continued presence of enormous quantities of chocolate chip cookies is not taken amiss, either.