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“The best book ever, along with Anne of Green Gable and Little Women.”
Mack Wright wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“This is a story of a teenage 17 year old girl, Jerusha Abbott who longed for someone to adopt her out of this horrible orphanage home. One day, her luck came when she had been chosen by a mysterious man who never shown his face throughout the book. She caught a glimse of his body once when he was about to leave the orphanage home. Jerusha had described him as a very tall and slim figure. Unfortunately she never got to see his face. This mysterious man was able to send her to high school and receive proper education. Daddy Long Legs, as Jerusha calls him, his secretary recommends her to write him letters every month about how she's doing at school what's going on. Even though Daddy Long Legs never replies to her letters she still keeps writting hoping one day, he will finally reply. Basically this whole book is like a journal full of Jerusha's letters to him. Jerusha is someone who you can make friends with really easily. She's always curious and always tries to find something positive to a negative situation. Jerusha thinks of weird things that normal people don't usually think about. Maybe that's why I find that character really interesting. In the end Jerusha received an invitation from Daddy Long Legs, himself. I will leave the rest for you to find out! This heartwarming and funny book will be great for readers who like to spend time reading at home, in their room sipping one of their favorite drinks.”
kayo y wrote this review Thursday, December 3 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Daddy Long Legs is one of my all-time favourite books. I first read it as a teenager and love it as much now as I did then.
Gioia M wrote this review Monday, July 6 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Judy Abbot is 17 and nearing the end of her time at the orphanage. One of the trustees sends her to college with the stipulation that she write a monthly letter reporting her progress. The rest of the book is Judy's correspondence that goes well beyond a mere report! With a lovely twist at the end and little illustrations throughout, it is fresh and appealing even though it is written the beginning of the 20th century.”
“Webster, J. (1989). Daddy-Long-Legs. New York: Puffin Books.
SJ Kessel wrote this review Wednesday, April 22 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
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Originally published in 1912, this classic shares the experiences of an orphan girl who is sent to college by an anonymous shareholder at her orphanage to become a writer. The one catch? Judy must send a letter to her benefactor each month, which she willingly does, while giving him the name Daddy-Long-Legs. As she wonders who the anonymous donor is, she adjusts to college, living outside of the orphanage and dealing with classmates who come from more privileged backgrounds than her own. She also struggles with deciding what to do as a career, her devotion to her benefactor and her relationships with one of her roommate’s brother and the other roommate’s uncle.
Readers, be warned, this is old-school chick lit. So, if a teacher wanted to incorporate it into their classroom, it would be best as an elective book or a book for literature circles. I’ll admit, I have assigned it to everyone in my undergrad classes, without warning them. But then, I’m cruel like that. And I think boys need to work on being able to take on female protagonists’ perspectives more often.
Also be warned, as the letters progress, Judy takes to calling her anonymous benefactor “Daddy,” a name that may feel slightly creepy under current cultural associations with the word. “Dear Daddy…” *Icky shiver*
This epistolary novel includes subtle references to early twentieth century culture, communism and the women’s movement that a teacher could latch onto and build lessons around. Also, since the book is built upon the assumption that given the opportunity, anyone can achieve, the book can be connected to the American dream or to biographies of real women how were economically successful at the time.
Also, Judy briefly considers how she engages with a novel and imagines herself in the role of a character (p. 84). A teacher could emphasize this moment and encourage students to do the same with the books they read.
Activities to do with the book:
Since the majority of the book is shared as letters, a teacher could share different types of letter writing (with technological allowance for learning how to write emails). A super-cool teacher, could also encourage a discussion on how texts, Facebook status updates and Twitter tweets could all be used to create ongoing narratives.
A teacher could also assign research paper or presentations on various aspects of the historical context or on real women who had biographies similar to Judy’s fictional narrative (Madam CJ Walker could be a starting point).
This is a good book to have students analyze for how relationships are influenced by power and how characters’ levels of power shift throughout the book.
Favorite Quotes:
“The first Wednesday in every month was a Perfectly Awful Day—a day to be awaited with dread, endured with courage, and forgotten with haste” (p. 1).
“Your board and tuition will be paid directly to the college, and you will receive in addition during the four years you are there, an allowance of thirty0five dollars a month. This will enable you to enter on the same standing as the other students. The money will be sent to you by the gentleman’s private secretary once a month, and in return, you will write a letter of acknowledgment once a month” (p. 8).
“Having somebody take an interest in me after all these years, makes me feel as though I had found a sort of family. It seems as thought I belonged to somebody now, and it’s a very comfortable sensation” (p. 14).
“It isn’t the big troubles in life that require character. Anybody can rise to a crisis and face a crushing tragedy with courage, but to meet the petty hazards of the day with a laugh—I really think that requires spirit” (p. 49).
“I put myself to sleep every night by pretending I’m the person (the most important person) in the book I’m reading at the moment” (p. 84).
For more of my reviews, visit sjkessel.blogspot.com.”
“So cute! Totally predicatable, of course, but I really liked it. It was written in a really interesting syle, with the letters, and I like that. We get a very unique perspective on our heroine that way.”
Elise M wrote this review Tuesday, April 21 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I loved these! What a charming pair of books - I will definitely recommend these to the book club, as it's something completely different to most of the books we read. What a great idea for a novel - short , but engrossing series of letters from the same character, which tells her story as it progresses. I especially enjoyed the author's line drawings as they charmingly illustrated the story line, giving a lovely impression of the scene. I loved the characters, as you really felt you knew them, particularly our heroines. It was also very interesting, as the books are set at the turn of the century, when women were struggling for a place in society. Our heroines were strong characters who were true to themselves, despite the world about them. Wonderful!”
Anne H wrote this review Thursday, April 16 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“hmmm i didn't read Dear Enemy but anyways
InKyung H wrote this review Sunday, April 12 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Daddy Long legs is my favorite book!!! :)”
“The epistolary story (or a story told completely in documents, such as through letters or diary entries), is already one of the most difficult forms or story to write. Imagine the challenge of writing not only a story of only letters—but only one-sided letters! And yet Webster somehow managed to pull it off, allowing just enough subtle clues that the reader is able to figure out who DLL is long before Jerucha does, and also see into his true feelings and motivations, despite the fact that the narrator herself remains clueless.
Alicia B wrote this review Thursday, March 19 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Really, it was pretty impressive.
The climactic love-confession scene left much to be desired, I'm sorry to say. My own daydreams of how Jerucha and DLL would finally come together were much more romantic (don't suppose there's a fanfic audience for this book...). But that aside, it was a sweet story, and a very quick read.”
“Jean Webster's Daddy-Long-Legs (1912) always remains one of the most valuable children books as it agitates themes of self-confidence in one's abilities, encouragement, and hard-will for kids and teens. The secret behind the book's immense success is the affable character of the heroine, Judy Abbott as almost every reader can relate to this little orphaned girl. Judy's reflections on life as an outsider, --as a caged orphan who suddenly steps in the real world-- is remarkable and intriguing for all of us. The two-sided love relationship that gradually gets developed between Judy and her wealthy benefactor/ The Young Pendleton is another intriguing element of this novel that adds to its attraction and juiciness! This is a light read for adults as well when one desires to keep distance from daily pressures. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel times and again and strongly recommend it to everyone!”
Yass Lili wrote this review Sunday, October 5 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
