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liwybookclub's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
britlitteacher's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
carriedoodledoo's review against another edition
2.0
I feel like this was started with the idea of it being a direct sequel, then left alone for about five - ten years, then the idea changed to being a romance with Pollyanna, but instead of starting over the author just shoved the two together. Also, she does the whole "I thought this person was in love with this other person but they're really in love with THAT person!" thing like, half a dozen times? It's still hilarious to read.
magklo's review against another edition
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
mariahistryingtoread's review against another edition
2.0
Trigger WarningS: Ableism, Period-Typical Misogyny
Pollyanna Grows Up is the underwhelming sequel to the charming classic Pollyanna. I read all of the Anne of Green Gables books and hope to do the same with this series as the concept is the same. The underlying difference is that Anne is an actual character while Pollyanna is a tool.
If you looked up the definition of toxic positivity you’d find a picture of Pollyanna.
The Glad ‘game’ has now snowballed into a rigid dogma Pollyanna must adhere to or the world will explode. An inventive, inspired way of alleviating some of the burden of everyday life has now become intrinsic to her very existence. Adults think it's great fun to dispense Pollyanna as a balm to the soul when she's a person with her own thoughts and feelings who has not consented nor can reasonably consent to such usage. That’s way too much pressure for anyone let alone a child.
The first half of the book takes place a few months or so after the events of Pollyanna. After a successful surgery and physical therapy Pollyanna has returned home more chipper than ever. As per usual, her Glad ‘game’ was a hit at the hospital she stayed in. One of the nurses there was so moved she writes to Pollyanna’s Aunt Polly begging her to allow Pollyanna to return to the city to stay with her miserable older sister in hopes that Pollyanna’s sweet disposition will aid her in getting over a traumatic incident of the past.
This stranger essentially asks to borrow a little girl in order to ease the pain of an adult woman she has never even met before; as if she’s a doll who can be loaned out at will. They even refer to her as medicine on several occasions. And Aunt Polly just lets her go. She literally lets a random sad lady keep Pollyanna for a time while she and Dr. Chilton go off to Europe for some conference of his.
Granted, Aunt Polly had to find arrangements for Pollyanna to stay in the States anyways, but still. She shouldn't be deployed like some kind of misery seeking missile to anyone who asks.
It's like outside of her usefulness she doesn't truly exist. People see her as a utility first, a person second. She’s achieved almost a god like status where she is revered too much to be treated normally. It's about what she - as a deity - can do for you. And as we all know deities don't have needs (and in 1915 kids don't have rights) so they feel all too comfortable ignoring her autonomy.
Aunt Polly makes it a point to not let Pollyanna know how impactful her little game is, however, that only keeps Pollyanna from feeling pressured to help others. It does not make her any less susceptible to actually being used.
The latter half of the book doubles down even further.
After Dr. Chilton’s untimely demise Pollyanna is now a young woman returning to the town of Beldingsville after living abroad for the past six years. The recent passing of the good doctor on top of near financial ruin has left her Aunt Polly even more disgruntled than she was in the first novel, if you can believe it.
Pollyanna has finally grown up quite a bit which was a blessing considering how young she acted even at the age of twelve. Yet, it’s bittersweet because in maturing she has now slid staunchly into the expected position for young women, that of the lone caretaker for all emotional labor of everyone around her. It was bad enough when she was a kid. But, at least then she was ignorant to societal norms. Now as an adult she is also strictly held to the standards of the time. It is no longer solely a special facet of her character, it is now a culturally enforced one too.
Pollyanna is barely allowed to have emotions because she needs to be glad every moment of every day or she’s ungrateful. It’s fine to be positive. It’s fine to motivate others to think positively. Luxuriating in sadness endlessly isn’t healthy. Looking on the bright side can snap you out of a funk. What’s not healthy is encouraging the repression of all negative emotions. All that does is cause undue stress to appear happy instead of actually living happily. Not allowing yourself to be emotionally open or experience the full spectrum of emotion is a great way to eventually have a mental breakdown. Or if you’re a woman in 1915, possibly a diagnosis of female hysteria. Not to mention how it increases your chances of victimization exponentially as your boundaries are more likely to be eroded when you're not being honest about your limitations.
Pollyanna is so conditioned to bear the weight of the world on her shoulders she even disregards a marriage proposal from her beloved as Aunt Polly would not approve. When he asks her to simply elope with him anyways Pollyanna refuses out of a sense of duty to Aunt Polly even though her reasoning for the disapproval is based on a misaligned superiority complex, classist nonsense, and in spite of Aunt Polly’s ongoing verbal abuse since Dr. Chilton died.
In two other instances where she believes she will be receiving a marriage proposal she is entirely resigned to marrying either one of these options despite her lack of romantic feelings literally just because she feels obligated to do so. She thinks that her old friend John Pendleton is in love with her at one point. She is fully prepared to marry this man who was at least a decade her mother’s senior because she feels she needs to repay him for her mother not choosing him before she was even born. Talk about a martyr complex.
I spent the entire book desperately wanting Pollyanna to think of herself for once. Or for somebody to go out of their way for her to the same degree that she rallies for them. She deserves so much better than the casually exploitative individuals around her.
There is a character whom Pollyanna makes a lifelong friend out of named Jamie. He is in a wheelchair because of some undisclosed issue with his legs he was born with. His family’s poverty barred him from receiving a potentially helpful surgery. A fall a few years later worsened his condition. The ableism, as you might have guessed, runs rampant.
To her credit, Eleanor Porter is clearly trying to be inclusive. Unfortunately, it manifests as Pollyanna and those around Jamie infantilizing him in a poor attempt to shield him unnecessarily from when he falls short. What’s worse is that Jamie is aware on some level of their subterfuge, yet they spend a discordant amount of time gaslighting him rather than correcting their own behavior accordingly.
Along those same lines, the addition of Jamie's the door to a critique of performative activism. Mrs. Carew, the woman Pollyanna visits in the first half of the book, is a person who prides herself on being a good person for throwing money at a problem rather than looking for the most applicable resolution. Coming into contact with Jamie shatters this illusion for her as well as Pollyanna who is a very sheltered child barely aware suffering even exists out in the world.
I think the inclusion has good intentions, but in a modern context is flawed due to the privileged foundation its built upon. Considering the demographic at the time of its publication, it most likely served its purpose.
These two plot points really show how being positive is not a perfect solution to every situation. In fact, it’s actively harmful to apply it to more serious situations as it has no room for intersectionality. It applies a one response fits all to circumstances that require a lot more nuance.
Admittedly, I am way less enthused than before to finish the series out. The Anne books had a similar comedown except I overall enjoy that series more than I do Pollyanna so it’s not totally comparable. On the spectrum of girls who change the lives of those around them for the better I'd say Pollyanna is just above Heidi on my scale. So from bottom to top, it’s Heidi, Pollyanna, Mary (The Secret Garden) and then Anne.
Pollyanna Grows Up is the underwhelming sequel to the charming classic Pollyanna. I read all of the Anne of Green Gables books and hope to do the same with this series as the concept is the same. The underlying difference is that Anne is an actual character while Pollyanna is a tool.
If you looked up the definition of toxic positivity you’d find a picture of Pollyanna.
The Glad ‘game’ has now snowballed into a rigid dogma Pollyanna must adhere to or the world will explode. An inventive, inspired way of alleviating some of the burden of everyday life has now become intrinsic to her very existence. Adults think it's great fun to dispense Pollyanna as a balm to the soul when she's a person with her own thoughts and feelings who has not consented nor can reasonably consent to such usage. That’s way too much pressure for anyone let alone a child.
The first half of the book takes place a few months or so after the events of Pollyanna. After a successful surgery and physical therapy Pollyanna has returned home more chipper than ever. As per usual, her Glad ‘game’ was a hit at the hospital she stayed in. One of the nurses there was so moved she writes to Pollyanna’s Aunt Polly begging her to allow Pollyanna to return to the city to stay with her miserable older sister in hopes that Pollyanna’s sweet disposition will aid her in getting over a traumatic incident of the past.
This stranger essentially asks to borrow a little girl in order to ease the pain of an adult woman she has never even met before; as if she’s a doll who can be loaned out at will. They even refer to her as medicine on several occasions. And Aunt Polly just lets her go. She literally lets a random sad lady keep Pollyanna for a time while she and Dr. Chilton go off to Europe for some conference of his.
Granted, Aunt Polly had to find arrangements for Pollyanna to stay in the States anyways, but still. She shouldn't be deployed like some kind of misery seeking missile to anyone who asks.
It's like outside of her usefulness she doesn't truly exist. People see her as a utility first, a person second. She’s achieved almost a god like status where she is revered too much to be treated normally. It's about what she - as a deity - can do for you. And as we all know deities don't have needs (and in 1915 kids don't have rights) so they feel all too comfortable ignoring her autonomy.
Aunt Polly makes it a point to not let Pollyanna know how impactful her little game is, however, that only keeps Pollyanna from feeling pressured to help others. It does not make her any less susceptible to actually being used.
The latter half of the book doubles down even further.
After Dr. Chilton’s untimely demise Pollyanna is now a young woman returning to the town of Beldingsville after living abroad for the past six years. The recent passing of the good doctor on top of near financial ruin has left her Aunt Polly even more disgruntled than she was in the first novel, if you can believe it.
Pollyanna has finally grown up quite a bit which was a blessing considering how young she acted even at the age of twelve. Yet, it’s bittersweet because in maturing she has now slid staunchly into the expected position for young women, that of the lone caretaker for all emotional labor of everyone around her. It was bad enough when she was a kid. But, at least then she was ignorant to societal norms. Now as an adult she is also strictly held to the standards of the time. It is no longer solely a special facet of her character, it is now a culturally enforced one too.
Pollyanna is barely allowed to have emotions because she needs to be glad every moment of every day or she’s ungrateful. It’s fine to be positive. It’s fine to motivate others to think positively. Luxuriating in sadness endlessly isn’t healthy. Looking on the bright side can snap you out of a funk. What’s not healthy is encouraging the repression of all negative emotions. All that does is cause undue stress to appear happy instead of actually living happily. Not allowing yourself to be emotionally open or experience the full spectrum of emotion is a great way to eventually have a mental breakdown. Or if you’re a woman in 1915, possibly a diagnosis of female hysteria. Not to mention how it increases your chances of victimization exponentially as your boundaries are more likely to be eroded when you're not being honest about your limitations.
Pollyanna is so conditioned to bear the weight of the world on her shoulders she even disregards a marriage proposal from her beloved as Aunt Polly would not approve. When he asks her to simply elope with him anyways Pollyanna refuses out of a sense of duty to Aunt Polly even though her reasoning for the disapproval is based on a misaligned superiority complex, classist nonsense, and in spite of Aunt Polly’s ongoing verbal abuse since Dr. Chilton died.
In two other instances where she believes she will be receiving a marriage proposal she is entirely resigned to marrying either one of these options despite her lack of romantic feelings literally just because she feels obligated to do so. She thinks that her old friend John Pendleton is in love with her at one point. She is fully prepared to marry this man who was at least a decade her mother’s senior because she feels she needs to repay him for her mother not choosing him before she was even born. Talk about a martyr complex.
I spent the entire book desperately wanting Pollyanna to think of herself for once. Or for somebody to go out of their way for her to the same degree that she rallies for them. She deserves so much better than the casually exploitative individuals around her.
There is a character whom Pollyanna makes a lifelong friend out of named Jamie. He is in a wheelchair because of some undisclosed issue with his legs he was born with. His family’s poverty barred him from receiving a potentially helpful surgery. A fall a few years later worsened his condition. The ableism, as you might have guessed, runs rampant.
To her credit, Eleanor Porter is clearly trying to be inclusive. Unfortunately, it manifests as Pollyanna and those around Jamie infantilizing him in a poor attempt to shield him unnecessarily from when he falls short. What’s worse is that Jamie is aware on some level of their subterfuge, yet they spend a discordant amount of time gaslighting him rather than correcting their own behavior accordingly.
Along those same lines, the addition of Jamie's the door to a critique of performative activism. Mrs. Carew, the woman Pollyanna visits in the first half of the book, is a person who prides herself on being a good person for throwing money at a problem rather than looking for the most applicable resolution. Coming into contact with Jamie shatters this illusion for her as well as Pollyanna who is a very sheltered child barely aware suffering even exists out in the world.
I think the inclusion has good intentions, but in a modern context is flawed due to the privileged foundation its built upon. Considering the demographic at the time of its publication, it most likely served its purpose.
These two plot points really show how being positive is not a perfect solution to every situation. In fact, it’s actively harmful to apply it to more serious situations as it has no room for intersectionality. It applies a one response fits all to circumstances that require a lot more nuance.
Admittedly, I am way less enthused than before to finish the series out. The Anne books had a similar comedown except I overall enjoy that series more than I do Pollyanna so it’s not totally comparable. On the spectrum of girls who change the lives of those around them for the better I'd say Pollyanna is just above Heidi on my scale. So from bottom to top, it’s Heidi, Pollyanna, Mary (The Secret Garden) and then Anne.
lara_bookella's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
meme_too2's review against another edition
4.0
Cute follow up story to the classic, Pollyanna. She's older and lives with another family and makes them glad to be alive as well. The story slows quite a bit at the end as everyone experiences misunderstandings, but everything finally ends well.
belovedame's review against another edition
4.0
Dated, but delightful.
A pretty satisfying conclusion to the loose ends from the first book. Porter deals marvelously with how insufferable the “glad game” would look on an adult. She also deals with what happens to an “attitude of gratitude” when faced with real crises and losses and even larger issues. A charming read, but you’ll need to overlook some rather dated ideas about marriage and romance.
A pretty satisfying conclusion to the loose ends from the first book. Porter deals marvelously with how insufferable the “glad game” would look on an adult. She also deals with what happens to an “attitude of gratitude” when faced with real crises and losses and even larger issues. A charming read, but you’ll need to overlook some rather dated ideas about marriage and romance.
ruby_99's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
cathyatratedreads's review against another edition
3.0
Book club read: A solid 3.5 stars. Sure, a bit predictable but entirely charming and irresistible, much like Pollyanna herself.