Pollyanna

4 ★ - (enjoyed a lot/really liked it)

My childhood favorite book I reread it about fifteen times at least aince i was 9 5***

This is another book I picked up because my teenage friend was frankly horrified to learn that I hadn’t ever read it. I’m so very glad I did. I’m not sure how I missed this one when I was younger. It absolutely would have been one of my favorites as a child, and I completely get why my friend told me I needed to read it. Very seldom have I related to a character quite as strongly as I did Pollyanna, though thankfully my life hasn’t been plagued by nearly as many hardships. I love Pollyanna’s aggressive optimism, and I relate to it profoundly. I might not have been aware of The Game, but I’ve always tried to see the best in every single situation. In that regard, I feel as though Pollyanna could have been a bosom friend, quite like Anne Shirley. People sometimes view this type of optimism as naive or even ignorant, but that’s not a view I’ve ever shared. I think that being optimistic even in the worst of circumstances can be incredibly brave. It’s hard to find a silver lining in a storm cloud, but it’s also immensely rewarding. I think that this is the difference between happiness and joy. Happiness is circumstantial. Joy is a decision and, if you’re a Christian, both a spiritual gift and a discipline. This joy is something I’ve always tried my best to exhibit, even when life is hard and it takes some profound effort. I loved seeing this same decision in Pollyanna, and I think remembering her will help me keep my chin up then next time I’m struggling to find my own optimism. The story itself was so heartwarming and uplifting. Pollyanna’s growth as a character, and the ways in which she impacted her entire community in ways that bonded them and had them coming alongside and supporting Pollyanna herself during her darkest hours, was all simply beautiful. The impact one little life can have on so many is profound. It’s a reminder that encouraged me and gave me pause, as you never know how closely you’re being watched and how deeply your actions and attitudes could effect those around you. I teared up towards the end, as the community came together around Pollyanna and lifted her up, as she had lifted all of them as one time or another.. The use of dialect in the dialogue was the only drawback for me, making the book a 4.5 instead of a full 5 star read. I know this was a commonly used writing method in the past to delineate between the upper classes and the lower, less educated common folk, but it always throws me out of the story, because I always feel a touch offended on behalf of the people being so represented. But that is a tiny drawback in the scheme of things. I truly loved this book, and am happily shelving it alongside Anne of Green Gables, Heidi, The Secret Garden, and A Little Princess. Pollyanna is a book I will absolutely be rereading, and I’m so thankful that my friend pressed it into my hands.

I was curious about this book, having seen the Disney movie some years ago. I enjoyed it and enjoyed the main character, Pollyanna. It's darker than the movie as is to be expected with characters that are well fleshed out and interesting.

It was light but good!

"The whole town is playing the game , and the whole town is wonderfully happier - and all because of one little girl who taught the people a new game, and how to play it" I can't remember when was the last time I enjoyed a book so much, because with this one,I was taken by surprise. I found it as a reference to one of my favorite books, Anne of Green Gables,and I marked it as to read a while ago. Quite recently, I read an article that said that Pollyanna was the first book of L.Page that overtake the sales number of Anne's book , so I couldn't wait to see if it was worth the hype. And let me tell you-it surpassed all of my expectations. I didn't "like" this book.I fell in love with it. Pollyanna tells the story of an eleven year old orphan little girl that has just lost her father as well,and was brought up for a short time by the Ladies Aiders, a group of charity from the town she lived in . Her only relative alive was her aunt polly,a middle aged grumpy spinster,that although didn't want to take Pollyanna in,she felt obliged by a sense of duty that defined her. But just as my experience with reading this book, her aunt-Polly, came to love the little orphan slowly,and then all at once. The most special part about the book is Pollyanna's "glad game" that her father taught her how to play . It's a game that helped her to find something beautiful,something to be glad about in every situation she encountered . And while meeting new people in her new town, they started to play the game themselves. It's just so beautiful to think that one little girl changed the life of so many people in so little time. Pollyanna is one of the most inspiring characters I have ever read about,and her blind optimism just made my soul glow each time. A certain scene Pollyanna shared with one of my favorite characters from the book is very symbolic for how Pollyanna truly is to the world-and to me. " Perhaps; but I'm thinking that the very finest prism of them all is yourself ,Pollyanna" . "Oh,but I don't show beautiful red and green and purple when the sun shines through me,Mr Pendleton!" "Don't you?" smiled the man . And Pollyanna ,looking into his face wondered why there were tears in his eyes. "I'm afraid,Mr Pendleton,the sun doesn't make anything but freckles-out of me. I am quite sorry I lived in this world without knowing about this book-because it definitely became one of my favorites . I do understand that this book received hard criticism as well for beeing way too unrealistic and sugary sugary sweet-and let me tell you,it's both of these things. But only for the better in my case , because I am a sucker for absolute and ultimate happy endings,for that little touch of magic and miracle we hardly find in our lives. I love these things,and I don't care if it's unrealistic or silly . The child in me wants such things. This little amazing book is entitled Pollyanna, but I think another marvelous title would be The book that will probably make you happy . I reccommend it to everyone-children of all ages and adults altogether. I think it is indeed quite similar with Anne of Green Gables,but I think they concentrate on different approaches and I love them both just the same. Another book I was reminded of when reading this one was Star Girl by Jerry Spinelly , so if you liked Pollyanna, or Anne of Green Gables,check all of them. Overall,a truly amazing book that I just flew through, and I just couldn't put it down the whole time. Already started its sequel.