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juushikaBeen on a very specific kick lately! What a change from reading heavy nonfiction on audio.
Title: From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
Author: E.L. Konigsburg
Narrator: Jill Clayburgh
Published: Simon & Schuster Audio, 2009 (1967)
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 170
Total Page Count: 510,175
Text Number: 1840
Read Because: more children's lit on audio, audiobook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: I could have sworn I'd read this as a kid, but nothing beyond the premise feels familiar, so - maybe not. Is it good, now, as an adult reader without the apparent benefit of nostalgia? It's fine. Clayburgh plays up Mrs. Frankweiler's crotchety-old-lady voice in the Simon & Schuster audio narration, and takes a conceit I'd love - intrusive narrators are delightful - and renders it a little overdone. The sense of potential of living at the museum, getting private access to an infinitely rich, infinitely wondrous, liminal space, is phenomenal; the rest of the plot kind of misses me. There are fun characters and clear arcs, but a sort of conservative bent: eldest female child rails against her social position and wants her life to have value and meaning (relatable!); returns to status quo with a petty, selfish secret (...do not want).
Don't read the afterword unless you want more social conservationism and some irrelevant minutiae.
Title: The Door by the Staircase
Author: Katherine Marsh
Narrator: Laural Merlington
Published: Dreamscape Media, 2016
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 290
Total Page Count: 510,525
Text Number: 1843
Read Because: more children's lit on audio, audiobook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: Finally being adopted ought to fix all of Mary's problems, but the identity of her reclusive, eccentric adopter living on the edge of an equally strange town may present unexpected dangers. This is about as gentle aBaba Yaga retelling as possible, which makes for an evocative atmosphere and an amiable introduction to this folklore, compellingly contrasted against reader/protagonist expectations from Grimm fairy tales. But it cleaves to increasingly predictable MG arcs and pacing, and loses all its tension by the climax. Familiar is a synonym for forgettable in my experience with MG fiction; I wish this were less safe, but I still like its cozy-spooky vibes.
Title: Willodeen
Author: Katherine Applegate
Narrator: Ariadne Meyers
Published: Books on Tape, 2021
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 270
Total Page Count: 510,795
Text Number: 1844
Read Because: fan of the author & more children's lit on audio, audiobook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: Autistic traumatized girl investigates local ecology; rescues unlovable special interest-wildlife and in doing finds her place in her community & family. And it's ridiculously charming. Applegate is unsubtle in her approach: everything plays out in predictable ways and the ecological message is uncamouflaged. But she has a knack for integrating capital-I Issues into organic, rounded characterization, particularly in the protagonist, and the inclusion of fantasy wildlife, the bubblenest-building hummingbears and skunk/boar hybrid screechers, gives this a necessary sense of whimsy that lightens the heavy topics and relieves my urge to put a warning sticker about "rescuing" wildlife on the cover. Wholesome, cozy, and tells me to read more modern Applegate.
Title: From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
Author: E.L. Konigsburg
Narrator: Jill Clayburgh
Published: Simon & Schuster Audio, 2009 (1967)
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 170
Total Page Count: 510,175
Text Number: 1840
Read Because: more children's lit on audio, audiobook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: I could have sworn I'd read this as a kid, but nothing beyond the premise feels familiar, so - maybe not. Is it good, now, as an adult reader without the apparent benefit of nostalgia? It's fine. Clayburgh plays up Mrs. Frankweiler's crotchety-old-lady voice in the Simon & Schuster audio narration, and takes a conceit I'd love - intrusive narrators are delightful - and renders it a little overdone. The sense of potential of living at the museum, getting private access to an infinitely rich, infinitely wondrous, liminal space, is phenomenal; the rest of the plot kind of misses me. There are fun characters and clear arcs, but a sort of conservative bent: eldest female child rails against her social position and wants her life to have value and meaning (relatable!); returns to status quo with a petty, selfish secret (...do not want).
Don't read the afterword unless you want more social conservationism and some irrelevant minutiae.
Title: The Door by the Staircase
Author: Katherine Marsh
Narrator: Laural Merlington
Published: Dreamscape Media, 2016
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 290
Total Page Count: 510,525
Text Number: 1843
Read Because: more children's lit on audio, audiobook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: Finally being adopted ought to fix all of Mary's problems, but the identity of her reclusive, eccentric adopter living on the edge of an equally strange town may present unexpected dangers. This is about as gentle a
Title: Willodeen
Author: Katherine Applegate
Narrator: Ariadne Meyers
Published: Books on Tape, 2021
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 270
Total Page Count: 510,795
Text Number: 1844
Read Because: fan of the author & more children's lit on audio, audiobook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: Autistic traumatized girl investigates local ecology; rescues unlovable special interest-wildlife and in doing finds her place in her community & family. And it's ridiculously charming. Applegate is unsubtle in her approach: everything plays out in predictable ways and the ecological message is uncamouflaged. But she has a knack for integrating capital-I Issues into organic, rounded characterization, particularly in the protagonist, and the inclusion of fantasy wildlife, the bubblenest-building hummingbears and skunk/boar hybrid screechers, gives this a necessary sense of whimsy that lightens the heavy topics and relieves my urge to put a warning sticker about "rescuing" wildlife on the cover. Wholesome, cozy, and tells me to read more modern Applegate.
