The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright was one of the titles mentioned in the Excellent Books for Early and Eager Readers that I reviewed not too long ago and one of the first from my holds list that I picked up to read. Firstly, even though this book was written in the 1940s it's still very readable for a contemporary middle grade (or adult in my case) audience. The book follows the 4 Melendy children (Mona, Rush, Randy, and Oliver) who are described (and drawn) with loving detail by the author along with their father, Cuffy the housekeeper, and Willy Sloper the handyman. The basic premise of the book (which is the first in a 4 part series by the way) is that the four children form a club to stave off their boredom wherein they pool their weekly allowances so that every Saturday they can each afford to go on solo adventures and do something that they really want to do (but which will likely not appeal to anyone else). Their interests much like their personalities were realistic for the time period in which the book was written although they feel somewhat far-fetched in comparison to today's children (one of the kids is obsessed with opera). Each of their Saturday adventures comes complete with peril (of the lightest variety) and life lessons learned so that there are built-in morals (sometimes heavy-handed) built into the narrative. I liked it but it's probably not going to be the first book I think of to recommend...unless the kid really digs the opera in which case I am ready. 6/10

 

What I'm Currently Reading: The Umbrella Academy, Volume 1: Apocalypse Suite by Gerard Way & Gabriel Ba

Double meh. I wish I'd done more research on this one before choosing it for a read along with Siggy. I guess there's merit to reading a realistic depiction of the ways brothers and sisters can annoy the heck out of one another. But good lord! Their sarcastic nicknames for each other and the repeated belittling of the other as stupid, a liar, or chicken gets old quick. Sure, siblings sometimes make each other miserable, but in no way do I want Siggy to view mean behavior as normal or okay. It's not okay. And there's never enough warmth shown by either child toward the other where you might pause and say "See? They really do care for one another." There might be some genuine regard there, but it's slathered in jealousy and snark. Yuck. Double meh.

Appeal Characteristics: friendship, secrets, bullying, urban lifestyle, father-son relationship, low income families, public schools, hip-hop/rap



Sometimes people hurt others only because they're hurting. That basically sums up this whole book. It was an interesting look at life from biracial perspective of Hispanic/Black culture. This is another great look at being a young male without a father and how it affects your identity especially in "coming of age stories." The group of friends is the center of the story because most kids have "their" circle of friends...friends they trust, friends who they think of as family. I felt the main message is that friends can help/hurt their friends lives for better or worse depending on how they handle some of the situations they go through.

Written in the 1940, this is the first book in the Melendy series. The 4 Melendy children form a club - they pool their allowance and one of them takes it to the city (NY City) to do whatever they want. It's a whole $1.60....so what will they do.I love that we get a peek at life in the 40s for families in NY City - before crime and traffic completely take things over, and before electronics consume the life of young people, and they are interested in things like the opera and art museums. It's a very nostagic book, lots for kids to learn about history and how our culture has changed.

6/11 Re-read. I don't know if I think this book is practically perfect because I know it by heart, because I love each and every one of the characters, or because the writing is stellar. Maybe all of those things. Enright was a genius, and it makes me sad when people have never heard of her.This time through, the Isaac-the-dog storyline seemed somehow more touching than usual. I love Mona's sadder-but-wiser moment, and Oliver's adventure. But my favorite favorite is the story of Gabrielle and the Gypsies. But Willy Sloper on opera is classic, and close to my heart. Seriously, just read this book, okay? 1/10 Re-read of an old favorite. I love it, but not as much as I love the Gone-Away books. It's somewhat dated, but not in a painful way. It's particularly odd to read about a family who lives in New York City who have a house and a yard and who are decidedly not rich. This book feels less like a whole book to me now and more like an introduction to the family who one comes to adore over the next two books. It's a capsule, a moment, and a series of character sketches. All of the characters are interesting but it's the barest hint of what comes next, how we come to know them in The Four Story Mistake and Then There Were Five. I will confess publicly to having no memory whatsoever of Spiderweb For Two, though I remember carrying it home from the library in my daisy-adorned bicycle basket. I'm impressed with the sheer staying power Enright's images have- so many things I remembered as crisply as if I'd read them for the first time last week. Who can forget Randy on the trapeze in the Office? Or Oliver at the circus? Cuffy's teeth in a glass? The vignettes are very vivid, and in a lot of ways I think this book is a love poem to a vanished New York.