'Pollyanna Grows Up' by Eleanor H. Porter

   

The sequel to Pollyanna finds the effervescent orphan on the verge of womanhood.

Her crippled legs cured, Pollyanna takes her glad heart to cheer new friends in Boston before travelling to Europe with Aunt Polly and Dr Chilton. But growing up brings sorrows as well as joys, and when she returns after six years, with Dr Chilton dead and Aunt Polly fallen on hard times, even Pollyanna has trouble maintaining her usual cheerful outlook.

MY THOUGHTS:

This is an entertaining sequel to 'Pollyanna', which starts soon after the conclusion. She is sent to stay with Mrs Ruth Carew, a lady suffering deep depression because over a decade earlier, her beloved baby nephew was kidnapped from the family by his eccentric father. Even though Ruth's brother-in-law has probably passed away, little Jamie's whereabouts remains unknown. These days he'd be on the missing person files. Ruth can't bear the uncertainty of not knowing whether he's suffering, or even dead. It casts a horrible shadow over every day of her life.

There in Boston, Pollyanna continues her habit of accidentally helping people transform their lives, including Jamie, a smart, bookish boy in a wheelchair, who might even be Mrs Carew's lost nephew, since he's unsure of his parentage and has the right name. Although Jamie plays his own version of Pollyanna's 'Game', he's not half as good at it as she is. It's possibly because he seems to have the typecast despondent, creative temperament of a literary author; the very thing he aspires to be. Jamie is a yearning, idealistic character we can't help liking. By the time Pollyanna leaves Boston, shes's helped bring several disparate, hurting people together, just by being herself and stepping out where more cautious and unsociable people would fear to tread. 

In this first half, Pollyanna discovers that living in a big city is way different from living in a small town, and people are far more aloof than she'd like. And at last she learns that approaching strangers isn't always commendable. 

The second half shoots forward six years. Pollyanna is twenty years old, returning to Beldingsville with her aunt after living abroad. Aunt Polly is now a widow who has fallen on hard times. To say she's reverted back to her bitter, cantankerous old self is an understatement. She's such a grinch, she even wants to cancel Christmas. Polly's brief taste of happiness seems to have made her crabbier than ever. Sadly, she only gets to spend a few years of marital bliss with her beloved Dr Thomas Chilton before he passes away, which understandably upsets many readers who enjoyed their whirlwind, second chance courtship. All we're told is that he 'died suddenly' and the text leaves us no idea why. I think it's safe to assume that Dr Chilton dies of a fatal case of plot device.

The stage is set for Pollyanna to introduce old and new friends in their time of need. She and her aunt must earn money fast while the Carew family are seeking a boarding house in country Vermont. Offering to host them herself seems a logical thing to do, although it unleashes all sorts of lovers' tangles and mix-ups. There are so many romantic assumptions that are way off track, if not outright bizarre, while it's probably predictable to every reader how the three key couples will end up being paired off.

The strained dynamics between Jamie and Jimmy are quite fascinating here. Both young men battle with jealousy of the other. I think Jimmy gets over his, especially when he discovers how unfounded it is regarding one crucial point. But for Jamie, I have the impression the green eyed monster is still raging, though concealed. Jimmy has so much he covets, including an able body and a budding career in engineering. And one more thing comes to light which would surely tip Jamie over the edge, if only he knew. I'm hooked on finding out how (if) that thread will develop in later books.  

Pollyanna turns out to be a very dutiful girl, who will defer to her elders when it comes to choosing a spouse. It's a dated outlook (thankfully), which I doubt modern young readers would go for or understand. She ends up with the man her heart chooses, but only after clearing it with Aunt Polly, then Uncle John first! Pollyanna ends up with the perfect guy for her, and in her place, I would have been tempted to rub it in with Aunt Polly. But being a wholesome, early twentieth century plot, she manages to appease her aunt and get her man at the same time. 

There are a few loose ends, which tighter, more modern editing might have addressed. When the identity of Ruth's nephew is finally revealed, nobody seems to think of telling her sister, Della the nurse, who surely deserves to know the truth as much as Ruth. It bothers me that she wasn't on the very small list of people who would learn the secret, even though she's a side character.

Overall, it's the sort of book which can get away with being a tad predictable because it's oh such fun. And next up will be Pollyanna of the Orange Blossoms. 

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