Fun and Games at Malory Towers

Malory Towers #10

by Pamela Cox

BOOKS

Genres: Childrens, Fiction, Boarding School, School Stories, Middle Grade, School, Adventure

240 pages, Paperback

Published September 7, 2009

About the author

After Enid Blyton's death, author Pamela Cox was asked to continue two of the author's series, St. Clare's and Malory Towers.

Reviews

[Manybooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

So yes, with regard to how much I have actually personally and emotionally enjoyed the fourth of Pamela Cox’ continuations of Enid Blyton’s Malory Towers series, while I do think that Fun and Games at Malory Towers is especially writing style wise still very much in the spirit of Enid Blyton’s original six Malory Towers novels, sorry, but the contents and thematics of Fun and Games at Malory Towers, I have not really found my perusal of them all that enjoyable and have in fact been feeling more than a trifle bored and actually so filled with reading tedium and a lack of joy that I have to admit needing to skim over quite a goodly percentage of Pamela Cox’s featured text in order not to get too frustrated and consider abandoning Fun and Games at Malory Towers as a did not finish book.

Because while the general boarding school premise which Pamela Cox shows to us in Fun and Games at Malory Towers continues to be spot-on mirroring Enid Blyton’s Malory Towers vision, and that I have definitely appreciated getting more and more fun and diverting Malory Towers based details about Felicity, Julie, Lucy, June etc. and especially do like how June is becoming less and less self-centred and more and more of a team player, I just have not really been able to warm up to how Pamela Cox in Fun and Games at Malory Towers depicts and portrays the three new fifth form girls. For both Millicent as a character and her harshly uncompromising attitudes towards music do very quickly become irksome and dragging, while Delia’s transformation, although sweet and delightful, has so often been repeated in Enid Blyton’s school stories that in my opinion, Pamela Cox really needed to do something special and wonderful here. And well, how Delia changes and becomes more confident by the end of Fun and Games at Malory Towers, albeit I guess decent enough as a story, has also been far too generic, far too same old, same old and thus not special enough for my reading self to have truly felt all that much engagement and reading pleasure. But actually, what really does make me shake my head in major consternation (and to only consider but two stars for Fun and Games at Malory Towers) is that the entire “Over-extended Gillian is sleepwalking and an inadvertent thief” scenario is in my humble opinion so very similar to the sleepwalking scenario presented in Enid Blyton’s Fifth Formers at St. Clare’s that one can only assume that Pamela Cox basically totally has made use of this for her Fun and Games at Malory Towers, and yes, I for one do rather consider the very obvious similarities a sign of at best authorial laziness.

[Alice-Elizabeth (Prolific Reader Alice) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the tenth book in the bestselling Malory Towers series, following Felicity Rivers and her friends as in this story, they have entered the fifth form. There's competition between June and new girl Millicent as they both try to persude the other students down their respective passions (June being sports and Millicent). Things also come to a head when items belonging to Felicity and her friends start to go missing. Someone isn't being honest with them. A good fast-paced read, with a array of characters that kept me interested in reading!

[Kavita · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the fifth form now, Felicity and her friends are glad to be back in school. June has become the games captain of the whole school and is revelling in her new responsible role. I love how June gets such a great character arc and Cox has seamlessly developed her from the original Blyton's June. She is quite one of my favourites in the whole series.

In Fun and Games at Malory Towers, three new girls show up to shake things up. One of them is Millicent, who turns out to be a musical genius. Unlike Irene in the original series, whom I didn't really like, Millicent is a fun character. She sets out to start an orchestra in the school and creates a lot of drama, especially indulging in a war of talent with June, since it appears that good musicians also are good sportsgirls!

Gillian is one of these multi-talented girls, and she soon gets caught up in trying to play both tennis and the violin. But Delia, a girl extremely lacking in self-confidence, steps up to help her deal with her problems. Part of this plot appears to be taken from a St Clare's plot but it's done quite well, so one can overlook the copying. I also rather liked Delia's story.

Worse than all this wrangling, there appears to be a thief in the fifth! Who could it possibly be?

[Hermione · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought it was an excellent book, and the way it was written prevented me from putting it down! Very interesting story, too.

[Kirsti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh no! I'd finished the last book and now had no way to continue on with this series. Kindle to the rescue! Bought the last three in a set for cheaper too. This on is about a rivalry between June and Millicent, one wanting players for a tennis tournament, the other for an orchestra. Unfortunately, many Mallory Towers girls are good at both, and the choices must be made! I like what this author has done with June, as she was one of those characters I always wondered about.

Great writing, as always. Five stars!

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

A few new characters enter Malory Towers. Another enjoyable term at school with it's usual moral message.

[rosie · Rating 4 out of 5]

my gay awakening was the girl holding the tennis racket on the cover at age 7

[sæphir · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! This series is my favorite and I highly recommend it. This is Felicity Rivers' fifth year at Malory Towers and there are 3 new girls: Delia, Millicent and Gillian. Millicent is obsessed with music and forms a school orchestra for a competition. June is the head of sports so she organizes tennis teams and practices. Gillian is very good at playing the violin and also very good at tennis, but she has to make a choice between two things she really loves. So she chooses both, even though the girls try to warn her that it's going to exhaust her. Delia doesn't think she has any talents, she is very modest and sweet. Millicent is treating the people in her orchestra badly, while June gains everyone's respect. One day in class, Delia doodles original song lyrics in a notebook Millicent gave her for a little while, and she goes to extreme measures so no one sees it. On top of all this drama, the girls' things are disappearing one by one!

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

The rivalry between June, training the school team for a tennis tournament, and a new girl named Millicent, pouring all her energy into organising a school orchestra to take part in a competition, as well as a thief in the form, are at the heart of the story in this one. Once again, a predictable enough story, with new characters more than a little reminiscent of those from the original books, but nevertheless enjoyable.

[Ellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is actually one of my favourite Malory Towers books, but after this reread I noticed a few things that confused me.

It is the their first term in the fifth form, yet it’s a summer term? Surely they would start in the fifth in September?

Still a very enjoyable read, and remains a firm favourite!

[Kathy Chung · Rating 3 out of 5]

it's lovely to revisit Malory Towers again

way it was written was pretty much like Enid Blyton's style.

however, am a bit disappointed by the plot. Gillian overworking herself and the mysterious thelf plot felt familiar.

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good fun but not one of the best.

[Christywongcy Wong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny and amusing

[iAmARainbow Yay · Rating 4 out of 5]

these books are so easy to read

[zita · Rating 5 out of 5]

nothing like a good ol Malory tower book to pass some (very limited) free time!!

[Karen Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Developments

New girls
-Millicent Moon = on front cover. Coded Asian, possibly Korean (Moon being a Korean surname). This marks the first appearance of an Asian character in any Enid Blyton book. Pity that Millicent is so serious and devoted to her music that she tends to ignore other girls' feelings though. But she gets her just desserts in the end and learns her lesson.
-Gillian Weaver = on front cover. A pretty girl with auburn hair, talented in violin and tennis. She overworks herself this term by trying to fulfill obligations to June and Millicent. Generally a nice character. She's not mean or anything but she does teach the readers a valuable lesson about overworking yourself and making promises you cannot keep. Gillian has bitten off more than she can chew.
-Delia Norris - I love Delia. She's a quiet, shy girl who lacks self confidence until she makes friends with Gillian. I love how their friendship brought out Delia's talents of singing and composing. Gillian encourages her to believe in herself and Delia teaches Gillian how to relax. She was also accused of being a thief but I'm glad that she isn't the one.

The main plot and source of conflict in this book is the clash between June and Millicent. June has grown up even more this term, being elected to become Games Captain. She takes her responsibility very seriously. But being the sly character she is, she keeps stealing talented girls away from Millicent's orchestra because she wants them on her tennis team. I found their competition and petty fights a little overdramatic but realistic in terms of the school setting and age of those girls.

Overall, it was a good book but I think Pamela borrowed heavily from a previous Malory Towers book written by Enid Blyton because I could have sworn the sleepwalking plot has been reused before.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why was the whole music-games drama so incredibly enrapturing to me when I read this? No idea. And honestly when I think of it I really gain so much appreciation for the innate ability that you have as a kid to just... disregard major components of a story that don't make sense to you (what the heck is a coach and why can't you call it a bus?) and still make sense of the bigger picture.

I went to London recently and our tour guide was telling us how buses were called coaches and literally everything I had ever read in my childhood clicked. It took me how many years??

But again, in case you missed my other reviews, this series is the most wonderful thing that has ever happened to kid-me. 5 million thousand gazillion stars.

[Sharvari K]

HI
JUST READ THIS BOOK CALLED AS MALORY TOWERS: FUN AND GAMES WHICH IS THE BOOK 9 OF THE MALORY TOWERS SERIES WRITTEN BY ENID BLYTON AND PAMELA COX. YOU CAN GET THIS BOOK IN THE CORNERS OF YOUR LIBRARY OR IN A BOOKSTORE OR ORDER IT ONLINE OR JUST READ IT ONLINE ON AN APP CALLED AS AMAZON KINDLE. THIS BOOK/SERIES IS GOOD FOR PRE-TEENS OR SCHOOL GOING GIRLS. DARREL RIVER'S LITTLE SISTER FELICITY IS NOW HAVING FUN AT MALORY TOWERS. BUT THERE IS NOT ONLY FUN BUT THERE IS TROUBLE FOR JUNE, BUT ALSO FOR MILICENT, THE NEW GIRL WHO LOVES MUSIC SO BADLY AND SHE ALSO WANTS TO PARTICIPATE IN AN ORCHESTRA... BUT SHE KEEPS COLIDING WITH JUNE'S TENNIS MATCHES... WHATEVER WILL HAPPEN NEXT?
THANK YOU

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like Pamela Cox's Malory Towers series is unapologetically fanfic. As a child, I loved this series, but now on re-reading it as a near-adult I'm realising how the university seems to ignore any of the pre-existing lore. For example, June is made games captain, which is apparently a rare occurrence. That's funny 'cause no one really cared when Darrel was made Games captain in the fifth book. Also, I have grown attached to characters that I know will get 'thanosed' in the next book! Like Gillian and Delia are legit the only characters I could relate to and I know that they aren't in the next book. Nevertheless, I will continue to adore this series due to the sense of nostalgia and the almost idyllic and material image it paints of post-war Britain.

[DJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delighted to continue to say that Pamela Cox is still Top of the Class with this continuation to the beloved Enid Blyton Books.
Plenty of intrigue and Shenanigans to keep you hooked and baffled.
And just the right note of moral guidance - not as strong put as EB ( well, times have changed somewhat ) , I am delighted to say but it would not be in the spirit of EB to completely miss it out.
Feeling rather sad as I realise I only have 2 Books to go... will need to try and space them out.
Brace yourselves for some tears in my review of the final one.

[Rayne · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3.5/5) - 1 hour 18 minutes - Another Malory Towers book I have little recollection of - I really liked the characters in this one, particularly Delia and Gillian. Millicent seemed a little over the top but I recognise that this is the point in middle grade and children’s fiction, and it is a consequence of my rereading the series as an adult that is to blame for my distaste in this respect. Again, I think Cox has done a great job at contuining this series in the style of the original 6 books, and the plot, while slightly repetitive from other books, was still engaging and enjoyable.

[Eva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another amazing Malory Towers book! I loved every moment of the book and when I got into the first couple chapters it just flew by. The reasons for me taking away a star is because of the amount of new charcters there is in each book and it does become very confusing at times. Also, I think there needs some other shorter storylines to tie into the book about other characters in their form because it mainly centerd on 3 or 4 people and it does need some other people to come into the storylines but not new charcters.

[Cocoa Boo · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a wonderful surprise when I discovered the Malory Towers series was continued by another author (Pamela Cox) in the same writing style as Enid Blyton. This series is a childhood favorite of many and there's nothing like getting re-immersed in this world. This story continues with Darrell's sister and themes of friendship, fairness and how to handle tough situations is covered in a lovely manner. A very relaxing read!

[Anjani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another book I delightedly devoured in the span of a mere few hours, Fun and Games is a wonderfully written novel in the Malory Towers series. Delia was such a sweet little character, as were Gillian and by the end Millicent as well. Overall, another splendid novel in the series and I can't help but feel sad over almost having finished the re-reads!

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable instalment of the Malory Towers series.

It was a nice change of pace to read a thief plotline where the thief wasn't doing it maliciously, or even consciously! And the tension/rivalry between June and Millicent created some fun scenes throughout the book.

Another classic, although I am getting increasingly sadder now that I only have two more books to go.

[Dhanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is just amazing and I love it. It was full of life lessons that we shud know in a very jolly manner. As in the book it always tells more to life than lessons. Many think this book is a bit childish or slow. But it is very good not at all childish or slow. I REQUEST EVERYONE to read this book at once.this series is a mind blowing one.

[Rithavenba · Rating 5 out of 5]

There 's a lot going on at Malory Towers! New girl Millicent wants to run enter the school in an orchestra competition! Meanwhile, June is chosen to be games captain of the school! They both want new girl Gillian to come to their competitions. Poor her is forced to do both and tires herself out. Also, who is stealing people 's objects? Read to find out!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author seems to have hit her stride with this book. The first few seemed to be trying to hard or something but this one is very natural and charming. Felt very similar to an actual Enid Blyton though I have to admit I haven’t read any of her school books in years so could be mistaken.

[Farseer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another enjoyable entry in the series. I quite enjoyed the rivalry between June and Millicent. Delia finding her confidence and Gillian overworking herself, and all the drama with the thefts (including a groan-inducing revelation) was cliched but fun.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am enjoying this extension series to Malory Towers, which is my favourite boarding school series. It feels very like the original stories, and I love seeing Felicity, Susan, and June grow up as Darrell and Sally did.