The Girls from See Saw Lane

Happy St. Nicholas Day (the saint not Santa Claus).  It is also Mitten Tree Day!  This is something fun you can do with your children or at your office (if you are in a cold area).  You can have a tree where you have people bring in mittens to donate to people in need.  You can also cut out mitten from construction paper and have children decorate them.  Another option is to make salt dough. You can then use cookie cutters to cut out mitten shapes to decorate and use as ornaments (if you want to color the ornaments try food coloring).  Salt dough is a fun project and child friendly.  

The Girls from See Saw Lane by Sandy Taylor (first book in Brighton Girls Trilogy) is a British novel (set in the 1960s) about friendship.  Mary Pickles and Dottie Perks live in Brighton and are best friends.  They have been friends since the moment they met when they were eight years old.  Mary and Dottie are usually seen together with little Mary leading the way (by little I mean she is short).  After graduating from school (what we call high school) the girls are working at Woolworth’s (they call is Woolies).  Dottie works behind the cosmetic counter and Mary behind the candy counter (she is too short for cosmetics—no one can see her behind the displays).  They are seventeen years old with their whole lives ahead of them.  They are into make-up, movies, records, and, of course, boys.  Dottie wants nothing more than to meet the right man, get married, and have children.  Dottie wants to stay in Brighton where she grew up.  Mary is artistic and wishes to go to L’ Institut d’Art in Paris (even though there is an art school in Brighton).  Mary wishes to travel and has grand plans.  Will their dreams come true?  What happens when men into their lives?  Come along to see what happens to The Girls from See Saw Lane.

The Girls from See Saw Lane is told from Dottie’s point-of-view with diary entries from Mary.  It is a simply told story and reminds of book I read when I was twelve/thirteen (we did not have a young adult room when I was young.  So I meandered over to the adult room to find new books to read).  It reminds me of books from the fifties.  There is friendship, romance, and tragedy in The Girls from See Saw Lane.  It is a lovely story and a nice change of pace.  Since it is a British novel, there are many words that are unfamiliar or different.  Most of them are easy to figure out except for the food and drink.  I give The Girls from See Saw Lane 4 out of 5 stars.  When you read this book, be prepared to laugh and to cry (it gets really sad).  The Girls from See Saw Lane is a little predictable, but I enjoyed it.  The Girls from See Saw Lane is a good book to settle in and read on a rainy afternoon.

If you like The Girls From See Saw Lane, I recommend reading the Nightengales series by Donna Douglas (wonderful series).  I received a complimentary copy of The Girls from See Saw Lane from NetGalley (and the publisher) in exchange for an honest review.

I am off to bake cookies.  Have a nice and enjoyable Sunday afternoon. Take care and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader