viernes, 10 de febrero de 2017

It’s a hard-knocked life | MercatorNet

It’s a hard-knocked life

Tabitha's parents want to send her back to the orphanage.

Jennifer Minicus | Feb 10 2017 | comment

Nooks & Cranniesby Jessica Lawson
written for ages 9-12 | recommended
published in 2016 | Simon & Schuster | 352 pages

Nothing good ever happens to Tabitha Crum. Her parents do not love her, and she has no friends, except for her pet mouse Pemberly. The bright spot in her life is the time she spends reading Inspector Percival Pensive stories.

When Tabitha receives an elegant and mysterious envelope at school, she does not dare to imagine what its contents may be. Both she and her disagreeable parents are shocked when they find an invitation to spend the weekend at the estate of the Countess of Windermere. Hoping to gain something themselves, Mr. and Mrs. Crum accompany Tabitha and find that five other children have also received the same invitation.

Apparently the Countess is searching for a long lost grandchild. Unbeknownst to the six youngsters, they were all adopted at about the same time from the same orphanage. The Countess, an eccentric woman with a dubious past, wants to spend the weekend with them to discern which one is her relation. Torn between feelings of relief that the nasty couple who had been raising her were not her real parents and suspicions about the Countess’ motives, Tabitha uses her sleuthing skills to uncover the truth.

While the other characters in Jessica Lawson’s story are rather stereotypical, Tabitha is a complex protagonist who shows spunk and compassion. Self-doubt gradually turns to confidence as she learns to make friends with the other children and demonstrates intelligence and resourcefulness. In spite of a fairly predictable outcome, mystery lovers will enjoy Tabitha’s adventures and some unexpected twists in the book’s neatly packaged conclusion.

A former teacher, Jennifer Minicus is currently a full-time wife and mother.

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In view of our lead article today on how President Putin is managing the centenary year of the Russian Revolution, I cannot help recycling Churchill’s famous analysis of Soviet Russia’s position at the beginning of the Second World War: It is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma…

Now, facing this momentous and potentially polarising anniversary, Mr Putin seems to be taking the path of enigmatic statements about the Revolution and all that followed so as not to cut across the reconciliation he rightly desires for the nation. If anyone can do it, he can, with the help, perhaps, of his mysterious powers of persuasion. The article from The Conversation is really good and suggests an answer to the riddle of the Russian president’s strategy.