Les Petites Pensionnaires (2010) - Plot & Excerpts
Frances Hodgson Burnett's 'A Little Princess' was one of my favourite books when I was around the age of 10, and I read it endlessly. I was very surprised to discover this sequel by a modern children's author at the library, and couldn't resist picking it up. Rather than focusing on what Sara did next, this book goes back to Miss Minchin's school and turns the spotlight on some of the other girls. These include Ermengarde, Sara's shy best friend, who turns out not to be so 'stupid' after all, and spiteful Lavinia, who becomes a more interesting character and proto-feminist in this one. Even the villain of the original book, Miss Minchin herself, is somewhat redeemed in this sequel, though I found it hard to believe in her transformation. There's also some humour centred on Lottie and the cat next door. I didn't feel this book was very similar in tone to Burnett's classic and it has none of the intensity which has made that story a favourite for generations, but it is well-written and a pleasant read in its own right - and it also poses some interesting modern-day questions about assumptions made in the original, like the way Becky's life is so secondary to Sara's. My expectations must've been too high for this one. A Little Princess is one of my favorite books from childhood...I must've reread it a dozen times as a girl. I always wondered what happened to Sara Crewe...and I thought that's what I was reading about. Instead, the book is about what happens to the other girls in Miss Minchin's seminary. That may have been part of the reason I was disappointed. But while Burnett had a gift for taking the mundane and ordinary and making it extraordinary without boring the audience, McKay struggles. The book is dull in parts, and the fact that I don't have much of a vested interest in the other characters at the school made it hard to stick with at times.
What do You think about Les Petites Pensionnaires (2010)?
i like the author and wonder is this a good sequel?
—dcorfield33
