My Never Ending List

I think when I see lemon drops, I will think of Birdie in this book.  Birdie is Charlie Anne’s youngest sister and this girl can make a lemon drop last forever.  Lemon drops are a special treat so Birdie only takes a few licks of her beloved sweet and then she folds it up in her hand and she saves it for later.  Times were hard after the depression and Charlie Ann’s family is struggling to survive.  Dad is trying to take care of his five children on his own and the farm is barely making it.  With promises of a job, dad sets off with the oldest boy leaving the younger children behind with their cousin Mirabel.   Patience is running thin in the household with father gone, as the children and Mirabel don’t see eye-to-eye.  One of the neighbors brings home a new wife Rosalyn, and that sets off some sparks in town.  Rosalyn arrives in long pants, along with a young African American girl who is about the same age as Charlie Anne.  Its small town gossip at its finest as town folk start their rumors regarding this new family.  Charlie Anne thinks she might have a new friend but not if Mirabel can put a stop to it.  Charlie Anne needs her father now more than ever and the town is split with the addition of these new individuals.  A great book with lots of love, adventure and drama inside.   

You have to love Charlie Anne approach to life, she‘s proud and she’s bold but she’s still just a child.   Telling her father how she feels, taking a stand with Mirabel, hanging out with Phoebe and her experiences in school, they are all good examples on how lived.   When she goes to the river to talk to her mom and then the way she talks to the animals on the farm it’s as though she really does have this special touch, and that these things/people are actually conversing and responding to her.  I loved these conversations.  If you have not heard of Charlie Anne or read about her family, I highly recommend you read this book.  I found it to be a quick read perhaps that was because I could not find a good place to stop.