Review: Scones and Sensibility, by Lindsay Eland

From Goodreads:
Seek tirelessly and you shall not find a contemporary heroine of middle-grade literature as refined and romantic as Miss Polly Madassa. Still swooning over the romantic conclusions of Pride & Prejudice and Anne of Green Gables, twelve-year-old Polly decides her purpose in life: helping along lonely hearts in search of love. Polly's only task this summer is to make deliveries for her parents' bakery, leaving ample time for this young cupid to find hearts to mend--beginning with the kite-store owner, Mr. Nightquist, who will pair perfectly with Miss Wiskerton (the unfairly labeled town curmudgeon). Polly's best friend Fran Fisk is in desperate need of a mother ever since hers ran off with a man she met on the Internet; Polly must find a match for Mr. Fisk. And while she's at it, it wouldn't hurt to find Clementine, Polly's teenaged sister, a beau worthy of her (so she can shed that brute, Clint). Polly's plans are in full swing, so she definitely cannot be bothered by the advances of classmate Brad Barker.

But maybe Polly should have turned her attention to Miss Austen's Emma next, because she quickly learns the pitfalls of playing matchmaker. How will Polly patch up her own relationships, while ensuring that destined love can take its course?

***

I found this book to be delightful.  It has some very mixed reviews on Goodreads and Amazon.  Most of the complaints were about the elaborate way of speaking that Polly has.  The book is written in first person, which means the entire book is very elaborate.  Personally, I loved Polly and her obsession with being refined and ladylike.  The way she reflects the personality and actions of the characters in her favorite books reminds me of the way I was when I was twelve.  The story pulled out my own fond memories of childhood and thinking that an old fashioned way of life (candlelight, gentlemen, and horse drawn carriages) is very romantic.


The story was perfectly clean.  This is precisely the type of book that I am going to hang on to (I bought it at the library bookstore) until my girls are old enough to read by themselves.  


If I were to be objective, I would have to say that the writing might be a little confusing or difficult to understand for some middle grade girls, especially if they had never read Pride and Prejudice and Anne of Green Gables.  But then again, it might not.  


I enjoyed every page of this book.  My only complaint was that it made me crave danishes.  I had to make a batch of cherry chip scones to eat while I read it. 


Reading level: Ages 8 and up
Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: EgmontUSA (December 28, 2010
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