What I’ve been reading lately, part 60

Second Year at Malory Towers — Enid Blyton I made it some way into this sequel [see review of the original] before starting to enjoy it: I feel that the innocent charm of the original is either absent this time around, or has lost some of its impact through familiarity. But as I read on, I found that I was interested in how boring it was. What I mean is, until very near the end, almost nothing actually happens. One girl becomes ill and recovers, and that’s about it. So all the bulk of the story is about who is best friends with who, and who doesn’t like who, all of it rather catty and unappealing. I found myself reflecting on the difference between the Malory Towers books (written for girls aged around eleven) and the Jennings books (written for boys about the same age). I’m not claiming that either series is a literary masterpiece, but what’s noticeable about the Jennings books is that stuff is always happening. The boys of Linbury Court are always building little huts, or starting…