Cornelia and the Audacious Escapades of the Somerset Sisters

The librarian at my school put this book on hold because she always knows what books I will love. When she handed this to me, I looked at the title and smiled. I knew it'd be great. So, before she even told me what it was about, I had it checked out. The title was all I needed. I read this in less than a week and fell in love after the first chapter. Cornelia is such a wonderful character and Virginia Somerset was fascinating. I wish I could have a friend like her! After every story told by Virginia, I wanted to travel to which ever country she was talking about. This story should be read by everyone. It is amazing how you can easily relate to it. I can't wait for future books by Lesely M. M. Blume, she's a wonderful author who has a bright future. I may be only 14 years old but I reccomend this book to anyone, even adults. This would definately make a great Christmas gift that I'd personally love to receive.

Eleven year old Cornelia Street considers herself a wordsmith. She'd rather curl up with a good book than socialize with her classmates. At the end of the schoolday, she heads home to her apartment building in Greenwich Village, where members of the household staff await her - but where her mother rarely stays. Cornelia's parents are both world-famous pianists. Most people would envy that fame and that talent, but not Cornelia. She has no desire to play piano herself and wishes that her jet-setting mother were home more often. Her father is not in the picture; Cornelia has never known him. Though she has every (material) thing she could need, Cornelia is lonely. That is, until new neighbors move in across the hall. Who would have thought that an elderly woman would become a little girl's best friend? The dazzling Virginia Somerset shares Cornelia's love for stories and big words. The self-proclaimed Scheherazade tells Cornelia amazing tales that star Virginia and her three sisters as they travel all over the world, meeting famous artists and leaders. Cornelia and the Audacious Escapades of the Somerset Sisters by Lesley M.M. Blume is absolutely adorable. What a delightful book! I loved the story-within-a-story format and the descriptive writing. I could almost see Virginia's eyes sparkle as she related her adventures to Cornelia. If it had been released fifteen years ago and I had found it at my local library, it would have become one of the titles checked it out and read repeatedly. Highly recommended.

"Cornelia and the Audacious Escapades of the Somerset Sisters" I think is the best book I've ever read. Mostly it's because of the two main characters' love of books and words. When Cornelia meets her new neighbor, an elderly lady, she realizes that there is more to this world than just people in every day life. Cornelia's neighbor, Virginia, tells Cornelia about her many travels around the world that she had with her sisters. They had many adventures together in many interesting places. Over time, Cornelia is brought out of her shell. She had enclosed herself in her own world of words, without exploring the real world around her. She makes friends and enjoys her life more than she used to. She and her mother become closer. Through Virginia, Cornelia has had adventures of her own. She discovers new things and becomes a completely different person. The end left me teary eyed. This will definitely be a book I will read over and over again. I highly reccomend this book.

I have an early galley of 'Cornelia' and have already re-read it three times. It is a completely magical book, and reminds me of the sort of classic books I read when I was young ('Harriet the Spy", "Eloise," "Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler," "21 Balloons"). In the day or so it took me to read the book, I felt as though I, like Cornelia and Virginia, had traveled to Paris, London, Morocco and India - and had acquired a whole host of fascinating new people in my life. I didn't want it to end, and actually missed the characters when I wasn't reading the book! And Virginia Somerset is most certainly the sort of mentor EVERY girl (and woman) wishes she'd had, not unlike Mary Poppins and her ilk. This is a rare sort of work in a market saturated with fantasy genres and "Gossip Girls" values. I'd recommend it to any parent, teacher, library or school who wanted their children to develop a strong appreciation of friendship, language, music, history and world adventures.