book data
241 ratings, 4.23 average rating, 47 reviews
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published
March 6th 2000
(first published 2007)
by Odyssey Classics
binding
Paperback, 272 pages
setting
Unknown
isbn
0152022724
(isbn13: 9780152022723)
description
Summer has a magic all its own in Elizabeth Enright's beloved stories about two children and their discovery of a ghostly lakeside resort. These two ...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 298)
Read in January, 2007
Charming, sweet, and the perfect summer book; the tale of two children's summer is very pleasurable reading. No great mysteries, no evil villains or nasty bullies, no nonstop action or adventure--just a lovely, wonderful tale of a delicious summer.
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6 comments
This book is charming beyond charming and kind of hedonistic, which is just the way I like my books. Virtually nothing goes wrong in this book--there are no bad guys, no major events, no illnesses or deaths, zilch in that area. This is a book that most might find boring but I find delightful. The book is premised around the summer vacation of Portia and her cousin Julian in an old Victorian town surrounded by a bog--I'm not sure when it's set but I'm thinking in the 50s or so. There they discove...more
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This is a must read for any reader of great books! Portia and her brother have spent every summer at their aunt and uncle's suburbian house in the coutry. But this summer, while exploring, Portia and her cousin Julian (weird names, huh?)find a ghost town in the middle of a swamp...or is it so ghostly? They discover two old people who have lived there all their lives...and are the last remmanents of an annual family reunion that took place in Gone-Away Lake--now a musty swamp.
This book has ver...more
This book has ver...more
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Read in April, 2008
every summer, portia goes to stay with her aunt, uncle, and cousin julian. during this particular summer, she and julian discover a ghost-town on the edge of a former lake, now swamp. the once-stately summer homes are falling to bits, but there are still two inhabitants: mrs. minnehaha cheever and her brother, mr. pindar payton. long after the community was left to the elements, they returned to live, hermit-like, in the old houses, wearing old clothes, and living off the land. fortunately they ...more
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I love the idea of discovering a ghost town but the book went on a little too long. This is a great choice for someone looking for an old-fashioned read.
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A very enjoyable kids book. Suspenseful and kept me reading to find out what happened. I just loved it. The sequel was equally enjoyable.
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Read in October, 2008
A friend grew up on this and its sequel; a few years ago she unearthed the sequel and passed it along to me to read. I did. Now I've read the first novel, too.
These are a lot of fun. Great to read when settling into a newly purchased old house, too! I genuinely marvel at how independent these children are - they have lives of their own! Try this at home today and it would be labelled child abuse. And yet the children escape all dangers unscathed. I daresay they are the stronger charac...more
These are a lot of fun. Great to read when settling into a newly purchased old house, too! I genuinely marvel at how independent these children are - they have lives of their own! Try this at home today and it would be labelled child abuse. And yet the children escape all dangers unscathed. I daresay they are the stronger charac...more
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As usual, I'm reading Newbery Award winners. I read a series of older ones over Thanksgiving break, including this. It's a cute one about kids who discover an almost-ghost town. They befriend the remaining inhabitants and start a club in an abandoned summer home. It's old-fashioned and simple without any of the teen angst of modern juvenile fiction.
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recommended to Sophia by:
My mom
Portia and her brother go to visit their Aunt, Uncle and Jullian, their cousin. Portia and Jullian explore and find something nobody knew about. Abandoned houses on a lake called Tarrigo. But two people still live there. The cousins go through many exciting adventures: making a club house, fixing up old houses and finding things to do. Until it's time to go home. Portia and her brother are sad to go but their parents give them a suprise. Read the sequel to find out the big suprise. At the end of...more
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Nostalgic 1950's book for children. As innocent as a book can be, this is the story of perfectly behaved children who create a little summer mis-adventure. The roles are perfect for the 50's; however, there are many stereotypical roles used then that would not be used now. Girls have to wash dishes, boys wear a suit on the train. The best part though is how the author takes you back to a time when children had to use their imagination to entertain themselves, and how wonderful ideas emerge.
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Read in October, 2006
It probably says volumes about my childhood that this book, with the secret Victorian ghost town on a bogged-up lake, is one of my most treasured memories. A secret clubhouse in a falling-down mansion? License to forage among the other houses? Trunk after trunk of treasures, everything from clothes to seashells to a moosehead? Oh, yeah, I was so right there with Portia and her family.
I'm so happy they've re-issued this, and kept all the original illustrations.
I'm so happy they've re-issued this, and kept all the original illustrations.
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Read in August, 2008
This was a nice, pleasant, quiet read; it had a pervasive air of former days and simpler times. A Newbery Honor book, it was written in 1957, but had an even earlier feel of the turn of the century. I found the first half engaging enough, but the second half dragged. I kept waiting for something to happen. Just something. Anything to push the narrative forward. But no. In the end, it was too pleasant and quiet. Not one to recommend to the kidlets.
This is one of my favorite books from my childhood. I'm not really sure I could tell you why, exactly, but I distinctly remember it being one of the books where I was sad that it was ending. And after reading the sequel, I was sad the author hadn't written any other sequels. Plus, it was one of the books that my mom and I read together, which I miss, even though we still generally read the same things, but we don't talk about them as much anymore.
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Read in January, 1994
One of my absolute favorites from childhood. It was also probably the beginning of my love for all things Victorian, as odd a starting point as it may be. I fell in love with the idea of finding a little town that (although only inhabited by two people) still functions like it did nearly a century ago. I think I even decided that I would name my future children Minnehaha and Pindar, although now I see that may not be such a good idea.
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Read in January, 2008
recommended to Martha by:
Pamela
Lovely summer story of two cousins who discover a ghost town by a swamp that used to be resort community by a glorious lake. The imagery and descriptions are so absolutely fantastic! What I love most about this book are the two wonderfully quirky folks who still live in these dilapidated houses and how they are living testimony to the past. A remarkable, exciting sense of how time is fleeting.
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Read in October, 2008
Two cousins discover abandoned houses near a swamp that used to be a lake. They meet an eccentric brother and sister who live there and had spent the summers of there youth there. This book made me wish-first, that I had a close cousin to share experiences and friendship with and second, that I could have a secret place to explore and find "treasures".
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Read in January, 1983
I loved this quirky book when I first read it as a kid. I used to spend a lot of time exploring and playing in the woods behind my house. I think I liked the idea that the children in this book had discovered a mouldering lake resort while exploring themselves. Very cool.
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Read in January, 2008
recommended to Jessie by:
Martha
I found this book charming and warm and imaginative. I wonder if children of today can relate to the freedom and lack of adult supervision that seems so idyllic here. And would they find the eccentric adults of the gone-away lake charming or peculiar?
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