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5.0 out of 5 stars
Calling all teenage girls...you're not too old 4 fairytales, Dec 14 2001
It was while reading Adele Geras' Egerton Hall trilogy that I realized why we girls like V.C. Andrews when we're in high school. We grow up on fairy tales, and we are enchanted by these stories of downtrodden young girls who persevere and find love, success, and happiness. Then, someone convinces us we're too old for "that stuff", and that we ought to read realistic stories instead. In Andrews' gothic novels, especially the Heaven and Dawn series, we find the very same kinds of stories--the stories of young women making it despite horrible circumstances--and that's why we take so easily to those books. They're "realistic" enough to satisfy our left brains, but I'm gaping at this point as I recall all the fairy-tale elements in those stories--the ash girls and wicked stepsisters and what-have-you.In that vein, I recommend the Egerton Hall series. I don't mean to say they are just like V.C. Andrews novels; they're not. Geras has a COMPLETELY different and much brighter style; even the darkest book of the trilogy, _Watching the Roses_, has its moments of humor and lightness. And, there is no incest, fewer Dark Family Secrets, and almost no purely good or evil characters--everyone in Geras' books is only human, with good and bad qualities. What they do have, is three sensitive and talented young girls on the brink of adulthood, dealing with love, hate, family, friendship, jealousy, and schoolwork--and sometimes disowning, rape, and attempted murder. Each of the books tells the story of one of the girls' initiation, so to speak, when she learns about love and about the adult world. And each parallels a classic fairy tale the reader will remember from childhood--and yet they are not fantasy; it is human resourcefulness and not magic that wins the day here. I can't explain, without sounding pedantic, how much these novels affected me; all I can say is this: I am 23 now. I wish I had had these books at 14. They are going to be on the shelf of my (hypothetical) daughter once she reaches puberty. This is the first novel of the trilogy. It parallels "Rapunzel", and tells the story of Megan, the most down-to-earth of the three girls. Orphaned in childhood, she lives at a boarding school with her guardian, Dorothy, who teaches at the school. She is sheltered, and has rarely met boys. Then, Dorothy hires a handsome young teaching assistant, with whom both Dorothy and Megan fall in love. He returns Megan's feelings, and a secret affair ensues. He seems oblivious to the fact that she is only seventeen, and she is soon in over her head. Then Dorothy finds out... Is their relationship based only on sex and infatuation, or can it grow stronger, strong enough to endure ostracism, poverty, and hardship? The book's ending is a question mark. The romance is not resolved until three-quarters of the way through the third book, _Pictures of the Night_. (Note to Editor: Please compile the three books into one volume!) I recommend reading all three, both to read the end of Megan's tale, and to read the equally compelling stories of her friends Alice and Bella.
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