Short and Simple Reviews: Rascal, Summer of the Swans, Tom's Midnight Garden

This is a place for books that I didn't fully review.

Maybe I listed my likes and dislikes, had a little short paragraph, or a few sentences to convey my feelings on the book, but whatever the "review" is, all of them are short and simple. (hence the clever name)

Today I'm reviewing a few YA/MG classics

Nothing's surprising in the North household, not even Sterling's new pet raccoon. Rascal is only a baby when Sterling brings him home, but soon the two are best friends, doing everything together--until the spring day when everything suddenly changes.

Rascal is a heartwarming boyhood memoir that continues to find its way into the hearts of readers fifty years later.

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Review

I picked this book up on a whim at a booksale. Yet, I ended up reading most of the book on audio. The book was a Newberry Nominee and is highly rated on Goodreads, but I just had a hard time getting interested in this book. The book is about the author's life as a young boy, specifically him and his pet raccoon. I liked hearing about Rascal, the raccoon, and I found some of the anecdotes were humorous, but I think that was part of my problem. The book was heavily anecdotal and when a part didn't interest me, I felt like I was slogging through the story. For such a short book, I felt like it was taking me forever to finish it. Some parts, like camping and the wilderness, really didn't interest me. I admit I also wasn't wild about the fact that the reason the author/narrator had Rascal was that he stole Rascal from his mother. I know this is nonfiction and this was how it happened, but as much as I loved the relationship between him and the Rascal, it's not right to take baby animals away from their mothers (unless for medical reasons or for the safety of the animals, but that is always from a professional). I did like how the narrator realizes how hunting was wrong and set-off to help animals rather than hurt them. Overall, this really turned out to be not my kind of book.

I hereby give this book

2.5 Stars

Meaning: I almost liked it, but not quite

Sometimes you don't know what you love—until you almost lose it.

Sara's fourteenth summer was turning out to be the most confusing time of her life. Up until then, things had flowed smoothly, like the gliding swans on the lake. Now she wanted to fly away from everything—her beautiful older sister, her bossy Aunty Willie, her remote father, and, most of all, from herself.

But could she fly away from Charlie? She loved her younger brother in a way she couldn't understand, though sometimes she grew tired of his neediness. But when Charlie himself took flight, Sara suddenly knew what she had to do....

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Review

This was an okay read for me. I listened to this on audio because I needed a quick book to read. Because of how short the book is, I didn't feel like it was a full story. It really was more of a snapshot into this family. It mainly focused on the MC reflecting on her brother and what it is like to be the sister of someone who is mentally handicapped. I kind of wanted Charlie (the brother) to have more of a focus rather than the MC as I never really felt connected to the MC. This is an older MG book and I can see why it won the Newberry. This topic was especially rarely explored then, but now it does feel outdated. I did like the story overall. 

I hereby give this book

3 Stars

Meaning: I liked it

When Tom’s brother gets sick, he’s shipped off to spend what he’s sure will be a boring summer with his aunt and uncle in the country. But then Tom hears the old grandfather clock in the hall chime thirteen times, and he’s transported back to an old garden where he meets a young, lonely girl named Hatty.

Tom returns to the garden every night to have adventures with Hatty, who mysteriously grows a little older with each visit. As the summer comes to an end, Tom realizes he wants to stay in the garden with Hatty forever.

Winner of the Carnegie Medal, Tom’s Midnight Garden is a classic of children’s literature and a deeply satisfying time-travel mystery. 

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Review

I'm a bit wary when it comes to reading classic MG/YA books. There have been too many cases lately where I read these older classics and find that they just aren't that great compared to what is available now. Sometimes they can be very preachy, or sometimes they just don't age well.

But I was very pleasantly surprised by this book.

I loved the premise behind this story and it was told beautifully! Reading this book for the first time as an adult, I very much enjoyed reading this book. I looked forward to every night that the clock struck thirteen and I would see Tom go into the garden once more. The book had extraordinary surrealism, but it also felt so real. It included true elements of friendship. While this book was published in the 1950s, it still felt timeless because wanting to escape to another time and find a friend is a timeless story.

I can also say that I would have enjoyed this book as a child because that really is the important thing. This story would have been right up my alley as a kid.

Overall, I really liked this book and I'm glad that I gave it a chance. I can see why this book is considered a classic.

I hereby give this book

4 Stars

Meaning: I really liked it!