This one's a bit of a head-scratcher. For the most part, I really liked it (and I think I would have as a child, too), but every once in a while the story veered way off into crazy territory and left me asking "WTF?" I think I'm just going to pretend those parts* didn't exist.
Anyway. Roller skates are a symbol of freedom in this children's novel set in New York City at the turn of the century. Ten-year-old Lucinda--a tomboyish, Anne of Green Gables-esque chatterbox--comes from a relatively well-to-do family and has always led a sheltered existence, carefully shepherded around by her nurse or governess. This year, however, her parents have gone to Italy and have arranged for her to stay with family friends who believe a young girl should be allowed much more independence. Thrilled to spend a year as an "orphan," Lucinda straps on her skates daily and explores the city, befriending all sorts of people from different social classes and ethnic backgrounds along the way. She's soon--much to the chagrin of her more conservative relatives--engaging in activities such as sharing a back-alley picnic with an Italian kid and a local bum.
Oh, and she also has an awesome-sounding homemade puppet theater she uses to put on elaborate shows. Love that!
*SPOILER ALERT:
Most glaring example? One day, on her way home from school, Lucinda decides to visit one of her friends, an Asian lady she calls "Princess Zayda" (OK, she also calls her a "heathen Chinee," but let's ignore that for now). So: la, la, la, Lucinda scampers up the stairs, enters the lady's apartment…and FINDS HER EFFING DEAD ON THE FLOOR, BLEEDING ALL OVER THE PLACE WITH A SWORD IN HER GUT. Lucinda runs off to a trusted adult in a neighboring apartment and tells him what she saw. He replies that he doesn't want to get a little girl involved with the law and a trial and all that messy business, so why doesn't she just go home and not mention this to anybody? So that's what she does. Of course, the trauma of having witnessed such a thing bothers her from time to time, but not enough for her to ever say anything about it to anyone. Seriously. W? T? F?
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