The Places You Will Go

Susan To the Rescue

I couldn't resist buying this book today: The Riddle of Raggedrock Ridge, #4 in the Susan Sand Mystery Stories series, by Marilyn Ezzell.

I found it at that grubby secondhand bookstore in Amcorp Mall -- the very one where I once found a first edition of Antonia Forest's The Player's Boy; and where, today, I found two old Kaye Webb-era Puffins: Catweazle by Richard Carpenter, and The Rifle House Friends by Lois Lamplugh.

But back to Susan Sand. O.M.G.

I've never seen or heard of this series before. It's a Nancy Drew wannabe of course, but I think it's also  a parody of sorts.

"Look, Susan Sand!"cried Marge Halloran. "Those jagged rocks must be Raggedrock Ridge! Does this riding trail lead all the way up there?"

"I think it goes very nearly to the top," replied Susan Sand.

Susan Sand, the renowned mystery story author, and her friend, plump, red-haired Marge Halloran, were on a brief vacation, staying in the town of Foxboro where Susan was engaged in research for her next book.

"I haven't ridden a horse since last summer," said Marge, shifting in the saddle and patting the chestnut mare affectionately. ''I feel like a cowgirl."

"It's fun, isn't it!" rejoined Susan Sand, brushing a strand of raven hair from her forehead.

Susan isn't always referred to by her full name, only every other time she's mentioned! Of course, her hair is not just black, it's raven; just as Nancy Drew has titian, not just red hair. And Marge is, obviously, the ''plump but attractive" Bess Marvin equivalent.  Just five pages into the book and Susan is already proving to be a young lady of limitless talent.

It seems there are eight Susan Sand books and, according to Jennifer who writes the Series Books for Girls blog, the first four were parodies. Read about the series here.

This webpage is a guide to all the different mystery series for girls -- I didn't know there were so many. I wonder if all these fictional young ladies (Betty Gordon, Melody Lane, Arden Blake, Mary Louise Gay etc) are bursting as full of talent and beauty as Nancy Drew. What would happen if they all met and had to work together? Would there be a power struggle, or would they compete to prove how humble and sporting they all really are?

On the trail of the Three Investigators | Books | guardian.co.uk

Vital equipment for the Three Investigators ... a magnifying glass. Photograph: Paul Tearle / Getty Images

By David Barnett

via guardian.co.uk

Posted via email from daphnelee's posterous

 

I distinctly remember the first time I watched an Alfred Hitchcock movie. It was Psycho, of course, and I was allowed to stay up later than usual to watch a film that I was really too young to see. To be honest, it didn't matter – I fell asleep about half an hour in. But I was happy, because I'd seen what I wanted: the director's famous cameo, standing outside Janet Leigh's office, wearing a cowboy hat.

My relationship with Hitchcock had begun long before, thanks to a series of books in which Hitch appeared fleetingly, but left a lasting impression. If I say Jupiter Jones to you, and Uncle Titus, and Red Gate Rover and Skinny Norris, you might be transported back, just as I am, to the heady days of the Three Investigators.

Laureates' Choice

The Laureates' Table is the title of a new promotion by British bookseller Waterstone. It marks the 10th anniversary of the Children's Laureateship and features selections (seven each) made by children's laureates Quentin Blake, Anne Fine, Michael Morpurgo, Jacqueline Wilson and Michael Rosen.

(Harry Potter doesn't make the list, but I'm not at LL surprised :-) )

Read more here.

Mini Review: The House in Cornwall

It's the return of the mini review! The last time I wrote one was in May, 2007! A blog reader Terri Green has inspired me to start again. She asked, in an email, if I had written any mini reviews of my favourite Noel Streatfeild books, as I'd promised in one of my posts. I had to admit I hadn't - oh, the shame! Well, I'm going to, Terri, and here's the first:

The House in Cornwall
By Noel Streatfeild
Publisher: Dragon, 139 pages
ISBN: 583300979

Three children (siblings Edward, Sorrell and Wish) are sent to Cornwall to spend six weeks of the summer with their uncle Murdock as the cousin they usually stay with during the holidays is ill (their parents are abroad).

They are quite anxious at the thought of staying with Murdock as they have never met him. Murdock used to live in Livia (a fictitious country) where he assisted in toppling the monarchy. Murdock then worked as chief of staff of the dictator Manoff. A counter-revolution resulted in his return to his mansion in the West country.

At Murdock's mansion, the three children find that they are treated like prisoners. They are watched and guarded at all times and have no contact with the outside world - forbidden access to newspapers and the radio.

Their suspicions that something fishy is going on are confirmed when they hear a child crying in the gardener's house!

This is quite unlike most of the other Streatfeild books I own, which are set in the world of dance and/or theatre. It's more like an Enic Blyton mystery. In fact, it is very like Blyton's The Secret of Spiggy Holes, which is also set in Cornwall and features kidnapped royalty.

However, although the characters in Cornwall don't dance, act or sing, they are still recognisably Streatfeild creations, and this means they are much more developed than Blytons ever are. For example, although Sorrell is a young lady who is quite house-proud and motherly - like Anne in the Famous Five series - her character, unlike Anne, is an active one, and there is some attempt to explore her personality and develop it in tandem with the plot.

I do like corny mysteries with flashing lights and strange sounds in the night, mysterious strangers and pesky kids who are always able to outwit the grownups. Another book I am reminded of whenever I re-read Cornwall is Blyton's The Circus of Adventure, which features yet another Ruritanian royal. These stories require a huge suspension of disbelief, but this comes quite naturally, even automatically, to me when I enter such worlds as are featured in them.

Reading Room

This week's Reading Room features books about cops and robbers, vampires and sperm donors. The usual 25% discount at Kinokuniya applies with the coupon (only in StarTwo).

A Sensitive and Humorous Portrayal ...

I'm certain that i'm very guilty of repeating myself in book and music reviews, using "favourite" phrases and words to help me say what I want about a book/CD. It's only mildly comforting to know that I am not the only one guilty of it.

Read this article in The Telegraph, about cliches that crop up in book reviews. How many of them have you used?

Pictures Save the Day

First published on 8th March, 2002 in StarTwo

Review by DAPHNE LEE

ONCE

By James Herbert

Publisher: Macmillan, 400

(ISBN: 978-0333761403)

Teen Misfits to the Fore

Originally published on Sunday, 6th February, 2005 in StarMag.

CHASING VERMEER

By Blue Balliett

Illustrated by Brett Helquist

Publisher: Scholastic

(ISBN: 978-0439372947)

True to Barrie's Pan

Tots to Teens

Star Mag, 15th October 2006

Clippety Clop

Kate Thompson's The Fourth Horseman (Bodley Head) is reviewed by Adele Geras in the Guardian Unlimited.