The Story Girl

I will admit that this is not a book I would have picked up to read on any given day. It’s only because of joining this book club that I am revisiting many of the classics. My experience in school was a little odder than most as I went to a Catholic school through 6th grade and then went into a public school. VERY different educational system to say the least.I didn’t really read the classics in High School and only started reading them in the past few years. There are many still unread. But that leaves great reading ahead, doesn’t it? Which is why I am so excited about this new book club.The Story Girl is about a young woman who can tell stories. Really good stories and the people in town go to her for their story. She holds them and shares them when she feels it’s appropriate or in exchange for something.It’s a sweet tale but I’m not going to say I really liked the story. I had a hard time staying engaged. I put it down, I picked it up. In fact, I read another book in-between the start and finish of this book. That does not speak well of The Story Girl, does it?But as with any, not all books are for all people. I have come across others who have loved the tale. So all I can say is judge for yourself.

I bought this book for my granddaughter's 12th birthday. I opened it to see what it was like and became so engrossed that I suddenly found myself on page 40. It is well written, and delightful reading. I am a fan of L.M. Montgomery so am happy to discover that my granddaughter is also.

I loved this book as a child and have read it to my children and grandchildren. A very nostalgic l[k at a summer childhood

The covers have some smudges and scratches. The book overall is fine.

Lucy Maud Montgomery's The Story Girl is delightful! I love the way she captures each of her characters and brings them alive through the written word.

Cute story, but moved along very slowly. Didn't keep my attention after awhile. I will be donating it to my local library.

Pure nostalgia can be beautifully compelling. This is a tale of eight youngsters between the ages of 11 and 14 who hang out together in a breathtaking part of Prince Edward Island. A grown man named Beverley King narrates the story of how he and his brother Felix were sent to stay for an indeterminate length of time with relatives at the family homestead where their dad was brought up many years earlier. It's clearly one of the best times of his life, and he describes their shenanigans, fun and occasional angst as if he were back on the spot, adding occasional comments from his older self about how naive, credulous but essentially merry they all were.Bev and Felix already possess a great sense of home from the moment of their arrival, since their father has described the folklore and features of the ancestral stamping ground to them. I love their deep sense of rootedness, and the idea that a long, quirky lineage on the same patch of land has helped shape them into the boys they already are. Not everyone is so grounded, and it's a true blessing.They live under the same roof with their cousins; pragmatic, irreverent Dan, beautiful and conventional Felicity and gentle Cecily. A stone's throw away lives another cousin, Sara Stanley (the Story Girl) who has a fascinating gift of the gab. Rounding off their little gang is the hired boy Peter Craig, who is inquisitive and hard-working, and Sara Ray, whose controlling mother makes her wistful and anxious. The adventures and personality clashes of such a disparate group are great fun to read about.The Story Girl gains Beverley's fascination at the outset. She has a genius for sniffing out ripping yarns from modest raw material that comes to her from everywhere. These leads slide past others as ordinary and mundane until Sara gets hold of them and forms them into her own personal style of live theatre. She has excellent recall, a great appreciation of the power of words, and quick wits to come up with a perfect story for any occasion. We readers have to take Bev's word (and Montgomery's) about how spellbinding she is, since we only get to read Sara's words without hearing them. I tend to think Montgomery (and Bev) gilds the lily a bit about her magical voice, but it doesn't detract much from the overall enjoyment of the book.I had my own memories about how refreshingly funny the collective incidents are, but it struck me this time how many of them zoom in on those curly aspects of theology that stump seasoned adults. Lots of this book is about the little gang genuinely trying to figure out how the Big Guy Upstairs works and hoping to second guess him. For example, they deal with intense fright following some fanatic's Doomsday announcement, purchase a supposed photo of God from a boy at school, hold a preaching competition between the boys, who aim to nail the 'best' delivery, try to figure out whether or not Peter has the 'right' to pray against Felix, and wonder how they can coerce God to heal poor Paddy, even though he's just a cat. The bottom line is they really want to know how they can be truly reverential when they feel they are just winging it.Added to all this are the trials of poor Peter, who is one of my favourite characters. He's the working class son of a single mother. And he's a genuine spiritual seeker who puts up with plenty of snobbery and flak when he decides to join his friends and start attending the local Presbyterian church. In spite of all the strokes against him, including time constraints, Peter is the one member of their little group who aims to read the Bible from cover to cover and succeeds, although he admits lots of it baffles him.I think the fact that they are able to pin down no concrete answers but find themselves having to rely on faith and general revelations of the bounty they see around them is evidence of their growing up. And of course we readers must acknowledge that we share the same limitations as the King kids. Learning to live content with the mystery is a point we all must reach. The ages of all the main characters make this book dynamic, since they're all moving into adolescence and have their feet in two different stages of being, so to speak.Overall, it's a lovely reminder that existential questions are natural, but it's ultimately okay that we don't get clear answers. I might even go so far as to recommend this as a fun, highly entertaining text theology students might enjoying pondering, even though it is essentially a feel-good novel. I'm looking forward to continuing on with The Golden Road.

Wonderful an very enjoyable reading!

If you love Anne of Green Gables you will also enjoy other books written by Lucy Montgomery!

Takes me back to a time when there was a slower pace of life and children could be children. Wonderfully written, nice to read at any age. Make sure you also read sequel The Golden Road.

This book is an escape into another time, another place, to an unusual story which makes you forget your current problems. Just makes you drift away into a childhood with memories which are not your own, but soon will be. An interesting and unusual read.