From: Christine Hill <chill>
Date: Fri, 15 Feb 2002 10:24:57 -0500

Things I liked about Everything on a Waffle: 1. Primrose's heartfelt question to everyone she met, "Haven't you ever just known something deep in your heart?" Everyone who reads this will have to ask themselves this question and examine their feelings about it. 2. Many stereotypes are stood on their heads. You might expect a developer to be a stock villain in a children's book, but Uncle Jack, though he makes mistakes, also goes to heroic lengths to care for a seemingly orphaned niece he doesn't even know. You might expect whale hunters to be villains, but this is how the good people of Coal Harbor make their living. A giant drugstore will put the neighborhood drugstore out of business, but the neighborhood druggists give the customer service from hell. Things I didn't like about Everything on a Waffle: 1. Now I understand why The Trolls used the framing device of Aunt Sally's nightly story. At least we would anticipate a new story in each chapter. These two books have no forward plot motion whatsoever. I found their episodic nature so excruciating that I felt myself squirming with frustration. I had to force myself to keep reading. 2. Unlike The Trolls, I didn't find this funny. I never once laughed and rarely even smiled at it, though I could see the author trying hard to make me. 3. I thought the use of the recipes was gimmicky and not a natural accompaniment to the story, as in Like Water for Chocolate or Heartburn. Can readers who liked this more than I did, give me a better appreciation of it as distinguished? Christine M. Hill Willingboro Public Library One Salem Road Willingboro NJ 08046 chill at willingboro.org My new book! Ten Hispanic American Authors, Enslow, 2002
Received on Fri 15 Feb 2002 09:24:57 AM CST