Review: Level Headed Heroine, With Siblings Who Like Each Other
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 29, 2013
After I found this, downloaded it, read it, and liked it, I looked a bit more closely at the author, Anne Digby. Interestingly, she has taken up Enid Blyton's baton and written a number of books that continue Blyton's Naugtiest Girl series. She also has a series about a young girl at the Trebizon boarding school, which echoes Blyton's Malory Towers and St. Clare's school series. I thought this was interesting mainly because Blyton's Famous Five and Adventure books would have been the ones I would have compared this Jill Robinson series to even if there hadn't been such a strong connection.Jill Robinson is sandwiched in the Robinson family between younger brother Tony and much older sister Sarah. Mom, Dad and Gran are the adults. They go on holidays and Jill and her siblings, or Jill and her best friend Lindy, have adventures and encounter and solve mysteries, in the face of menace! and danger!.The books are smartly written but they have an old fashioned feel. The kids ride bicycles around. They stop for tea. They are mannerly and polite, but they are like terriers once they get their teeth into a mystery. And get this - Jill and Tony and Sarah like each other, and admire each other, and often cooperate or talk through their differences. In this volume Tony is in trouble with Dad because he is being secretive about some "bad boy" he has befriended. Jill tries to help Tony, believes his explanation of what's going on, and even runs interference for him with Mom and Dad. No moaning or kvetching. Not once did anyone roll their eyes; although once Jill raised her eyebrows at Sarah, who raised her eyebrows back, behind Mom's back.This not dopey stuff. Dialogue is sharp. The kids are smart. The adults are more rounded out than usual. The stories don't plod. Scenes are efficiently set and the plot moves along nicely. It's just not frantic or sketchy, and it's all calmly and carefully crafted.So, there's some excitement, there's a mystery, there's some action, there's a lot of quick thinking, and there is charm and personality to burn. A bit slow at times? I guess so. But that's a small price to pay for such engaging characters, good writing, good humor and satisfying craftsmanship. A very happy find for your middle grade or possibly younger reader.Please note that I found this book while browsing Amazon Kindle freebies. I have no connection at all to the author or the publisher of this book.