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cultivatingdelight's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
oviedorose's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
4.0
linda_don's review against another edition
2.0
Well, it was free.
Take all the myths about the childhoods and general character of Presidents Lincoln and Washington and actualize them into an early 20th century female character, and you have Elnora.
She's beautiful, hard-working, kind, beloved, honest, self-educated, good with children, great with animals, and some kind of nature genius in general. She loves to look after the moths, the birds, the trees... and did I mention that she repeatedly demonstrates that she has no qualms about selling the land her family owns for lumber and oil profits? So maybe not that much of a genius after all. That's pretty much a D in Environmental Science right there--if you're feeling generous.
The deeper you get into the book the more it feels like a social tract on ideal femininity. Edith, Elnora's foil, is a glamorous town girl. She's depicted as selfish because she considers herself first, ambitious because she wants social standing above all else, and narrow-minded because she doesn't care to better herself in any way that won't help her own ambition.
(Plus, she doesn't really care about providing her future husband with, and I paraphrase, edible food and red-faced babies. My kind of girl!)
At the end of the book, deprived of her fiance and the respect of her peers, Edith is forced to take stock of her values. Heartbroken, she starts thinking long and hard about why she acts like she does, and concludes by blaming--surprise, surprise!--her mother. Charge: not incubating the right domestic values within her house and home.
On a side note, there's another female character in the book, Angel, who is just about as perfect as Elnora with the added bonus of already having married and had four babies. I think Virginia Woolf might have appreciated this, had she been the type of person to have the bad judgment to read this book, which I suspect she wasn't.
To cut off a rambling review, this book is a collection of thinly veiled, simplistic social mores masquerading as fun story about a feisty girl growing up by a swamp who likes moths. Gets me every time.
Take all the myths about the childhoods and general character of Presidents Lincoln and Washington and actualize them into an early 20th century female character, and you have Elnora.
She's beautiful, hard-working, kind, beloved, honest, self-educated, good with children, great with animals, and some kind of nature genius in general. She loves to look after the moths, the birds, the trees... and did I mention that she repeatedly demonstrates that she has no qualms about selling the land her family owns for lumber and oil profits? So maybe not that much of a genius after all. That's pretty much a D in Environmental Science right there--if you're feeling generous.
The deeper you get into the book the more it feels like a social tract on ideal femininity. Edith, Elnora's foil, is a glamorous town girl. She's depicted as selfish because she considers herself first, ambitious because she wants social standing above all else, and narrow-minded because she doesn't care to better herself in any way that won't help her own ambition.
(Plus, she doesn't really care about providing her future husband with, and I paraphrase, edible food and red-faced babies. My kind of girl!)
At the end of the book, deprived of her fiance and the respect of her peers, Edith is forced to take stock of her values. Heartbroken, she starts thinking long and hard about why she acts like she does, and concludes by blaming--surprise, surprise!--her mother. Charge: not incubating the right domestic values within her house and home.
On a side note, there's another female character in the book, Angel, who is just about as perfect as Elnora with the added bonus of already having married and had four babies. I think Virginia Woolf might have appreciated this, had she been the type of person to have the bad judgment to read this book, which I suspect she wasn't.
To cut off a rambling review, this book is a collection of thinly veiled, simplistic social mores masquerading as fun story about a feisty girl growing up by a swamp who likes moths. Gets me every time.
catymart83's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
christina_likes_to_read's review against another edition
4.0
I would acutally give this book 4.5 stars. It was wonderful. A friend lent it to me and told me that it reminded her of Ann of Green Gables. And I can totally see how it would. It is a quaint story with morals and values. You can tell that it was written in a different time period and I love that. Definately a classic and one I hope my daughters will read one day.
_cecilie_'s review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I feel a little conflicted since this novel has some genuinely delightful writing and heart-wrenching scenes but was ultimately held back by its stifling old-fashioned moralism. Let's say, it was like a gorgeous swamp moth caught in the net of an older relative asking you why you haven't gotten married yet.
This week's belle of the bog is Elnora who is just such a smart, beautiful, perfect girl that I can't even dislike her, since there's nothing to dislike. All in all, this novel suffers from having much more interesting side characters especially her mother Kate, her dead father and their relationship, Billy and his siblings, the neighbours Sinton, the Bird Woman, anybody except Philip maybe.
The setting is a beautiful little farm near the Limberlost, a wetland that is rapidly being deforested and torn up to drill for oil (which is portrayed as something good, really breaks my heart, especially because Stratton-Porter's nature writing is her strong suit), the nearby town Onabasha, its high school and evil vapid Chicago.
The plot features three trillion moths, school drama involving decidedly too many dresses, dangerous criminals which only exist on the periphery and never do anything, Lamarckian inheriting of violin playing skills which is unintetionally HILARIOUS, Elnora's mean mother having a 180 character change and burning off her face to become young again, Elnora graduating and thinking about going to college, which is never mentioned again once she gets her beau Philip and her new goal becomes to "bear him a gaggle of red-cheeked babies". Ugh. This went from cottage core to trad wife real quick.
This week's belle of the bog is Elnora who is just such a smart, beautiful, perfect girl that I can't even dislike her, since there's nothing to dislike. All in all, this novel suffers from having much more interesting side characters especially her mother Kate, her dead father and their relationship, Billy and his siblings, the neighbours Sinton, the Bird Woman, anybody except Philip maybe.
The setting is a beautiful little farm near the Limberlost, a wetland that is rapidly being deforested and torn up to drill for oil (which is portrayed as something good, really breaks my heart, especially because Stratton-Porter's nature writing is her strong suit), the nearby town Onabasha, its high school and evil vapid Chicago.
The plot features three trillion moths, school drama involving decidedly too many dresses, dangerous criminals which only exist on the periphery and never do anything, Lamarckian inheriting of violin playing skills which is unintetionally HILARIOUS, Elnora's mean mother having a 180 character change and burning off her face to become young again, Elnora graduating and thinking about going to college, which is never mentioned again once she gets her beau Philip and her new goal becomes to "bear him a gaggle of red-cheeked babies". Ugh. This went from cottage core to trad wife real quick.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
Moderate: Mental illness, Child abuse, Death of parent, Grief, and Infidelity
Minor: Stalking and Child death
lil1smith's review against another edition
4.0
This book has all the old charm and nostalgia that you could look for in a book. For me the beginning was a little slow (in fact I've started this book several times before getting through the beginning), but after that I wanted to keep reading. It was quaint, made me smile many times, and had the perfect amount of a romance, while also having some deeper underlining messages.
justicepirate's review against another edition
4.0
The depth of feeling you get while reading this is strong. The main character, Elnora, is a young girl who loves to learn. She is so smart and wants to attend the high school. She craves to be educated further than she is able to.
I had recently read Freckles, the first book, which I also enjoyed a lot.
I grew up watching a movie adaptation of this book. It was not exactly the same, but it definitely captured the whimsy and woodsy feel.
Elnora knows a lot about insects. She starts to catch several types in order to collect them for money, so she can pay her way through school. She has grown up in a forest and swamp area. Her father is said to have died in that swamp, though she never knew him. She was raised by her mother who is bitter and hardened. There have been kind neighbors in her life who were friends of her parents. The spirit and personality Elnora has throughout this book is really incredible and I wish I had a lot of her qualities. She is very smart and wise. She is forgiving and loving. She is also brave and independent.
I will say though, the romantic portion of this book actually bothered me a slight at times, but not completely. I think Elnora was smart in how she handled it all, for certain. I can't say much else as it may give away spoilers.
Overall, I think Elnora is a good character to look up to and aspire to be like, if girls read this book.
I had recently read Freckles, the first book, which I also enjoyed a lot.
I grew up watching a movie adaptation of this book. It was not exactly the same, but it definitely captured the whimsy and woodsy feel.
Elnora knows a lot about insects. She starts to catch several types in order to collect them for money, so she can pay her way through school. She has grown up in a forest and swamp area. Her father is said to have died in that swamp, though she never knew him. She was raised by her mother who is bitter and hardened. There have been kind neighbors in her life who were friends of her parents. The spirit and personality Elnora has throughout this book is really incredible and I wish I had a lot of her qualities. She is very smart and wise. She is forgiving and loving. She is also brave and independent.
I will say though, the romantic portion of this book actually bothered me a slight at times, but not completely. I think Elnora was smart in how she handled it all, for certain. I can't say much else as it may give away spoilers.
Overall, I think Elnora is a good character to look up to and aspire to be like, if girls read this book.