shomarq's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
obviousthings's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
I read part of this as a kid (sometime around 2010, judging by the bookmark left in it) and... wow, I'm glad I never finished it back then. There's some weirdly insidious transphobia in here.
There are a lot of female main characters in kids books who struggle with being forced to do Girly Things, or with not being allowed to do the same things as boys, or with misogyny in general, but I would say most of them don't read as trans-coded. Rose Rita, though, seems to dislike being a girl more than any of the difficulties that come with it. Her feelings about gender and about growing up are eerily similar to my own before I knew I was trans.
What disturbs me about this book is that, by the end of it, Rose Rita is taught that it is wrong for her to want to be a boy.
There are a lot of female main characters in kids books who struggle with being forced to do Girly Things, or with not being allowed to do the same things as boys, or with misogyny in general, but I would say most of them don't read as trans-coded. Rose Rita, though, seems to dislike being a girl more than any of the difficulties that come with it. Her feelings about gender and about growing up are eerily similar to my own before I knew I was trans.
What disturbs me about this book is that, by the end of it, Rose Rita is taught that it is wrong for her to want to be a boy.
Spoiler
She nearly makes a deal with a demon to become one, and afterwards, though she's supposedly learned her lesson, she doesn't seem any happier about being a girl. She seems resigned to it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Transphobia, Bullying, Car accident, and Kidnapping
Minor: Medical content
haddyaddy's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
scaifea's review against another edition
4.0
Rose Rita's best friend, Lewis, is off to summer camp and she's left facing an entire summer of dullness and worry about starting junior high in the fall. But then Mrs. Zimmerman - a good friend who also happens to be a witch - invites her to tag along on a road trip through the Upper Peninsula and things start to look up. Mrs. Zimmerman's trip is brought on by a letter from her recently-deceased acquaintance, who has left her his farm and a particular magic ring, which ends up causing all sorts of trouble for both her and Rose Rita, including some hairy encounters with a nasty old witch, who also wants the ring and has it out for Mrs. Zimmerman.
I love Bellairs' books - great characters, fun stories, and just enough of the scary stuff to be creepy but not enough to keep a 10-year-old up at night. Perfect for bedtime reading with Charlie.
I love Bellairs' books - great characters, fun stories, and just enough of the scary stuff to be creepy but not enough to keep a 10-year-old up at night. Perfect for bedtime reading with Charlie.
alicea's review
2.0
And then there was The Letter, the Witch, and the Ring which focused almost entirely on Rose Rita and Mrs. Zimmerman's adventures over the summer while Lewis was at Boy Scout Camp. (So why then is this often referred to as The Lewis Barnavelt Series?) Rose Rita is a full-fledged tomboy and is dissatisfied with being a girl. She wants a chance to prove herself and she gets the perfect opportunity when Mrs. Zimmerman becomes afflicted by dark magic and then mysteriously vanishes. [A/N: Richard Egielski is the illustrator of this volume and has a much different style.] If you haven't picked up on this by now it seems as if Bellairs sticks to the same narrative with only slight variations which is the main reason why this series got so stale by the second book. I don't have a lot of hope for the fourth but maybe with a different author at the helm (books up until 2008 and they began in the early 70s) there will be an uptick in excitement and narrative diversity. 3/10
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