Pollyanna Grows Up

This is a really excellent book, especially for those people who loved the first story about Pollyanna. The first half of the book is a wonderful reintroduction to the little girl Pollyanna and the second half is the story of Pollyanna-grown-up. Her manner of talking has matured with her, but she still plays the Glad Game in a way to win over even skeptical readers. Altogether, it is a most satisfying conclusion and a book I would recommend to anyone who loves the winsome character known as Pollyanna.

"Pollyanna Grows Up" is the sequel to the 1912 classic, Pollyanna and it is surprisingly just as wonderful as the first. Eleanor H. Porter mantained all the magic of the original novel in this very exciting continuation which takes us far away from our well known town of Beldinsville to the grand City of Boston, where little Miss Pollyanna Whittier arrives to cheer up some new friends. Fully recovered from her previous automobile accident, Pollyanna returns once again to the city of Boston, in request of her kind nurse, Della Wetherby. This last has a sister by the name of Ruth Carew, who is miserable and depressed as a consequence of a great loss, a young nephew by the name of Jamie who was taken away by his father, the woman's brother-in-law and who was never seen again. Della Wetherby's sorrow was just as grand, but her career as a nurse allows her to forget, while Ruth Carew lives alone in her big house in Commonwealth Avenue with nothing else she does or wants to do but to think of the lost Jamie. However, with her visit, Pollyanna soon changes things around, at first driving Mrs. Carew mad but soon she enters her heart. Pollyanna finds a lot of new friends in Boston, beginning with the servants in Mrs. Carew's own home, Jerry, a young newspaper selling boy, Jamie, a crippled boy who Pollyanna is sure is the lost "Jamie," and Sadie Dean, a homeless working young girl. In Boston Pollyanna spends most of her time trying to locate Jamie, in desperate hope to please Mrs. Carew, but of this I shall say no more, the surprise twist is for the very reader to discover on his or her own. The second part of the book may not arrive too welcomed by some readers, like Jimmy 'Bean' Pendenton stated, we readers weren't ready to see little Pollyanna grow up. However, although Miss Pollyanna Whittier has indeed grown up, she has managed to mantain her usual personality, even if some of her more innocent charm is gone. Pollyanna indeed needs her gladness and her famouse Glad Game to be able to survive the terrible dark times that have arrived at the Harrington homestead, where she grew up with the strict, but changed Aunt Polly, who has gone almost back to square one. In conclusion, if you've enjoyed the first part of this story, then you will definitely enjoy the further adventures of the glad girl and all of her old and new friends. Definitely a great sequel to an unforgettable classic!

I love this book!!!! It's just as good as the first one. My sixteen-year-old older sister kept this treasured book in her shelf and urged me constantly to read it. I brushed her off saying that I didn't have time and that it looked boring. One day, I had nothing to do so i picked up the well worn book and began reading. Surprise! I couldn't put it down. Not because it was exciting or suspenceful, but simply because it's one of those feel-good, sweet and uplifting books. On first examanation it doesn't seem deep or like it would have something important to teach, but after a closer look you find what a beautiful message it has to share. A girl, who with her kindness and ever cheerful outlook on her surprisingly hard life, make her a role model for any one. This is a perfect book for any girl who likes a delightful story and a sweet romance. I aggree with the other reviewer about Aunt Polly. She is quite exaperating, but the other wonderful charatures make up for it and she keeps it interesting. So, get a cup of hot chocolate and snuggle down by a warm fire with this book and be prepared for a wonderful time!

This is a pretty good story. A little more romance than I expected, but well written. Although grown up, Pollyanna is still her normal optimistic self and her Aunt Polly is really exasperating sometimes. It's a book to read when you just want to relax.