Novelicious.com | The Women's Fiction Blog for Readers and Writers

Nostalgic Summer Re-Read Review: The Letter for the King by Tonke Dragt

Reviewed by Zarina de Ruiter

As a child I was always immersed in a book, but more often than not it was written by a British author, such as Roald Dahl or Enid Blyton, not a Dutch one. There were a few notable exceptions though, and The Letter for the King (originally titled De brief voor de Koning) by Tonke Dragt was one of them. Steeped in adventure and fantastical places, it transported me with the flick of a page to an imaginative land filled with heroes, villains, and everything in between.

I'm always astounded when incredible novels not originally written in the English language are never translated for the foreign market, or if they are it takes many years to get there. The Letter for the King is an exemplary example of this, as it was originally published in the Netherlands in 1962, yet only received its English debut over half a century later in 2013. It is a shame that non-Dutch readers have been deprived of this children's classic for so long, but as it is a timeless story it will undoubtedly collect a whole new legion of fans that now have access to this incredible book.

Set in a fictional medieval land, 16-year old squire Tiuri is on the cusp of becoming a knight in the Kingdom of Dagonaut. All that is left for him to do is spend the night in perfect solitude in the local chapel with his fellow squires and the knighthood is his. However, in the middle of the night the sound of someone knocking ruptures through the silence within the chapel and when Tiuri against better judgment opens the door, he's given a sealed letter which he is told must be delivered to a black knight with a white shield as a matter of great urgency. Tiuri understand that it is of grave importance that he does as the stranger tells him and he sets off to find the knight to deliver the letter.

Nostalgic Summer Re-Read Review: Forever by Judy Blume

Reviewed by Susan Lobban

When Katherine met Michael she was not expecting to fall in love, but that’s what happened. It is not long before they feel they know each other inside out, but Katherine is in no rush to take their relationship to the next level. However, when the opportunity arises it feels right. They are both in this forever, but then forever is such a long time.

As soon as the #NostalgicSummerReread was mentioned I knew which book I wanted to re-read: Forever by Judy Blume. Between the ages of 10 to my early teens I devoured all of Judy Blume’s books and, although this was not my favourite, whenever I saw it on the school library shelf I would check it out. Once upon a time, it was the much talked about book amongst teenage girls – it became legendary – and even though I was reading a good 20 years after it was released, it was still current and didn’t seem dated. Nowadays though it is more than likely no big deal for teenage girls to read Forever, as everything is so much more sexualised than it was when I was that age in the 90s. All these years later I can still see the ambiguous cover in my head, which was an illustration of a teenage boy and girl with a blue sky and rainbow above them. Now the cover that appears on my Kindle is very obvious of boy and girl’s legs entwined on a bed! How times have changed!

This time around I found Michael to be overbearing and Katherine to be empowered and wise beyond her years. Whereas when I was a teenager I was intrigued by the details of a long-term relationship rather than the people involved in it.

Nostalgic Summer Re-Read Review: The O'Sullivan Twins (St. Clare's #2) by Enid Blyton

Reviewed by Zarina de Ruiter

When I was about six years old I received what is still one of the best presents I've ever had: my mum's old Enid Blyton collection. It consisted of the St Clare's books, Malory Towers, and a small selection of Famous Five, Five Find-Outers, and Adventure-series titles. From that moment onwards I was hooked on reading and for nearly 10 years I re-read at least the boarding school series several times a year. I also started to expand upon my collection of Enid Blyton titles at every possible flea market and second-hand bookshop occasion, and there were a lot of these during my childhood as I'm now the proud owner of several hundreds of her books; all the old versions, with some titles in different languages too, and all still stored at my parents' place in the Netherlands – sorry mum!

Despite my obsession with the St Clare's books in particular, and Enid Blyton in general as I read every possible book on her I could find (this was before the Internet existed) – I was mighty impressed by not only the wealth of books she wrote but also all her other ventures including producing a club magazine, writing short stories and doing a lot of good for children – I haven't actually read any of her books in about 15 years. So when the Novelicious Summer Re-Read was announced I knew it was the perfect opportunity to revisit one of my favourites.

Nostalgic Summer Re-Read Review: Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome

Reviewed by Verity Wilde

I know exactly where I was when I first encountered Swallows and Amazons. I was sitting on the carpet of Mrs. Brooks’s class waiting to find out what she was going to read to us next – we’d finished The Kingdom of Carbonel the previous week.

I was hooked by Arthur Ransome’s tales of a special school holiday in the Lake District from the start. When we’d finished the book (in time to watch the film for the end of term), I borrowed Swallowdale from the library and worked my way through some of the rest of the series. I even read a passage from Swallows and Amazons for a speech exam as part of my elocution lessons when I was about 14 (part of my mother’s attempt to stop me talking at warp speed and with a Northamptonshire accent). So it seemed logical for me to re-read the original (and best?) for Novelicious’s Nostalgic Summer Reread.

I was worried that 20-something years on, it would seem old fashioned. And perhaps to today’s children it would because they’re used to smartphones and tablets, but Ransome’s story of a camping holiday in the 1930s still worked brilliantly for me. I still don’t understand all the sailing terminology, but it doesn’t matter. And yes, some of the language is old fashioned (natives anyone?) and one of the characters is called Titty (which I believe is being changed for the upcoming TV adaptation!) and they eat food that most modern children (and adults like me!) wouldn’t touch with a barge-pole.

Nostalgic Summer Re-Read Review: Sweet Valley Twins by Francine Pascal

Reviewed by Jennifer Joyce

Twelve-year-old twins Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield are not only sisters – they’re best friends. They’ve always done everything together but lately Elizabeth has begun to feel that her sister is moving away from her. While they do still have some shared hobbies, Jessica is starting to develop interests that Elizabeth isn’t into, such as boys and joining the exclusive Unicorn Club at school. And when Jessica decides she no longer wants to dress identically to Elizabeth, Elizabeth fears she is losing her sister and best friend and the bond she thought was solid.

I recently bought a few second-hand Sweet Valley Twins books for my twelve-year-old daughter as I loved them while I was growing up. Not long after, Kerry suggested Team Novelicious re-read a childhood favourite and I thought how perfect it would be to delve back into the lives of Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield.

Win One Of 5 Goosebumps Sets with The Nostalgic Summer Re-Read

This summer, we’re re-reading our favourite books from childhood as part of The Nostalgic Summer Re-Read, and we’d love you to join us!

If you’re yet to choose your book, why not enter today’s competition to win a set of Goosebumps books by bestselling author R. L. Stine? Published by Scholastic, horror meets humor in Goosebumps, a multi-series collection of frighteningly fun books.

Nostalgic Summer Re-Read: Point Horror (A Bates, Diane Hoh, R L Stine)

Reviewed by Kay Brooks

When the topic of favourite reads from our teenage and childhood years was first raised, I was whisked back to a time of reading under the covers by torchlight. I remembered being so frightened, vividly making sure every part of my body was covered by the duvet and holding my bladder to bursting point until I heard one of my parents coming upstairs to go to bed. The thought of experiencing that fear again was too much to resist. After spending half an hour online searching for places to buy one of the notorious Point Horror books and finding they can only exist second-hand now, I ended up with two collections (three novels in each) being delivered the next day. I couldn’t wait. Would they still scare my socks off?

R.L. Stine is the main author that comes to mind when Point Horror novels are mentioned. He was always my favourite from the Point Horror authors and continues to write scary and humorous novels for younger readers, so it seemed only fitting that I read the most popular titles by him. I started with The Babysitter: Jenny and her mother are saving up for Christmas and the extra income brought in from babysitting twice a week would really help. When Jenny saves cherub-featured Donny Hagen from falling in a fountain at the mall, his overly-protective parents offer her the position straight away. Jenny accepts despite knowing that there has been a spate of violent attacks on babysitters in the area recently. The Hagen house is stereotypically large, old-fashioned and spooky enough to scare any young girl alone at night, but combine that with threatening messages, strange phone-calls and a lingering neighbour and you have the perfect ingredients for a terrifying time.

Introducing The Nostalgic Summer Re-Read

It could be the wistful sights, sounds and smells of summer all around us – the familiar song of the ice-cream van playing Greensleeves through warm, child-cluttered streets and the evocative scent of charred burgers on the barbecue scream British summertime – but we’ve been feeling a little nostalgic for summers past recently.

Do you remember that glorious feeling of six long school holiday weeks stretching out in front of you? Six whole weeks with nothing to do! Sure there would trips to the beach and picnics during that time, but the thing you most looked forward to – the absolute best part of the summer holidays – was the reading.

You could read on your bed, stretched out on the grass in the garden, or up a tree in the park until you were called home for dinner. You could read horror by R.L. Stine, fantasy by C.S. Lewis, deliciously disgusting tales by Roald Dahl and beloved boarding school classics by Enid Blyton. If you were lucky (and managed a trip to the library unsupervised), you might have even got away with a Judy Blume or two – even though your parents insisted you were still a bit too young.