Reviews

Party Shoes by Noel Streatfeild

emmarose91's review

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lighthearted medium-paced

4.0

booknerd93's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

plutoz's review against another edition

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funny slow-paced

2.0

mrswythe89's review against another edition

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3.0

Read as part of post-White Boots Noel Streatfeild spree. Not one of my favourites -- I think the problem is there's not really a main focus aside from Selina, and Selina's personality and quest are both not very gripping. And I usually like ordinary, humble characters! The family dynamics are carefully and cleverly delineated, as usual, but I wasn't that invested.

hilaryjsc's review against another edition

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2.0

Renaming all of Noel Streatfeild's books to have Shoes in the title didn't make them as good as Ballet Shoes.

turrean's review against another edition

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2.0

Somehow I missed this one over the years. This was the first time through for me, even though I've read Streatfeild's other "Shoes" books dozens and dozens of times.

It was interesting to have a look at British life at the end of the war. The lack of any kind of luxuries; the coupon books; the insistence on a stiff-upper-lip, even for children (the family, even the adults, are all annoyed at one of the kids when she cries at the breakfast table.) I never knew about school on Saturdays, Hong Kong POW camps, or early closings on Thursdays, either.

The book, like all the other "Shoes" novels, offered a behind-the-scenes look at a theatrical performance, though in this case, it was an amateur production, and not the professional stage plays from [b: Theatre Shoes|1401307|Theatre Shoes|Noel Streatfeild|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1221535387s/1401307.jpg|1391500] or [b: Ballet Shoes|10444|Ballet Shoes (Shoes, #1)|Noel Streatfeild|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388180362s/10444.jpg|1505465]. We have a loving family, though I found the Andrews parents nowhere near as delightful as Sylvie or dear Mrs. Bell and the Vicar. The main character, Selina, has the sad backstory of Rachel and Hilary in [b: Dancing Shoes|3783|Dancing Shoes (Shoes, #9)|Noel Streatfeild|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1419183245s/3783.jpg|762703], but she evokes nothing of the sympathy and affection we feel for the other quasi-orphans of Streatfeild's stories. I found producer Philip a bore; this is too bad, as Streatfeild is ordinarily so good at giving her young readers a peek inside the heads and hearts of her adult characters.


Ah, well, it was fun to read a Streatfeild book I'd never read before. I'll go on re-reading the other books and loving them!

suzid's review against another edition

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lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

alprnt's review

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3.0

2.5
I will always love this series but this particular instalment was kind of boring (also Phillip can choke).

k_lupin's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

ikuo1000's review against another edition

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2.0

*** Warning: This review contains spoilers!! ***

I would give this book 2 1/2 stars if I could.

This book was quite different from the other Shoe Books that I've read so far, and I actually found it somewhat boring. Even though there are still books in the series that I haven't read yet, I think I'll take a break from them for a while.

One of the main characters, Selina, is a temporary orphan who lives with her aunt and uncle, who have six children of their own. Unlike the other Shoe Books, we don't learn right away why Selina is living with her cousins. This lack of information was a little annoying in the beginning, but rest assured, you do find out the reason eventually.

The whole premise of the book seemed more fitting for a short story than a full-length novel. Selina receives a lovely party dress and matching shoes from her godmother in America (the story takes place in England), but since there is no upcoming event to which she can wear the dress, all the children get together and plan a pageant, just so Selina can wear her dress. Right away, the whole idea of planning an event around one dress seemed silly. Just let her wear the dress around the house! But I suppose in those days, everything was proper and people didn't do things like that.

It was a cute enough story at first. Each of the older children took responsibility for writing and planning one act of the pageant. Unlike other Shoe Books, stage talent isn't a central theme. Sally does apparently have a talent for dancing, but it's not anywhere near the focus of this book.

Instead, this book shows the reader all the work that goes on behind the scenes of a big production. The kids need to reserve a venue (a nearby Abbey that is soon to be sold), write their acts, engage actors and dancers to participate, plan and run rehearsals, and manage costumes for the entire cast. Phew! It was a lot of work, and I did enjoy the way the children's parents really got involved. Still, for the most part, it didn't make for every exciting or compelling reading.

In fact, the whole production started to become rather unbelievable when Phillip, an injured soldier who produced plays before the war, and who grew up living in the Abbey, started to take an interest in the pageant. The children had put so much work into their acts, and then Phillip came along and usurped the entire production! I felt indignant on the children's behalf, even though they were all, eventually, quite happy with their roles in the pageant. As the production grew bigger and bigger, everything just seemed to get more ridiculous.

It wasn't until towards the end of the book that finally everything started to come together, and I accepted the grand nature of the pageant. Instead of just being an event at which Selina can wear her dress, the pageant was also a realization of Phillip's dream to put on a production at the Abbey, and it was a fitting farewell for the Day family, who were moving out of the Abbey after many generations of Days had lived there. And I admit, it was satisfying to see the entire community rally behind the production.

I really enjoyed the ending, particularly the final four or five chapters, and I was glad to feel rewarded for having invested all that time reading the previous chapters.