Rather disappointing
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This book is the worst of the whole series...
I give it two stars - one is for the very funny hairpin-trick and the other one is for the interesting relationship between June and her trainer Amanda. At first, they hate each other, but then June saves Amanda's life...
But otherwise I don't like this book - in spite of being head-girl, Darrell has got a minor part, she is very sensible, staid and rather boring - she seems to be seventy rather than seventeen!
Why is Darrell so surprised when Miss Grayling calls her a success? She hasn't got a high opinion of herself, but if she wasn't considered a success, she wouldn't have been made head-girl!
As for Sally, you almost don't notice anything of her being at Malory Towers - she is games-captain, but even when the girls are talking about games and putting younger girls into teams, Darrell and Moira dominate the conversation. As in the previous book, Sally is only Darrell's shadow.
At the happy end of "In the Fifth at Malory Towers" unpopular Moira saves cheeky June from being expelled. Everyone admires Moira for her sudden generosity and June is thankful and subdued - but then in the sixth book both of them are much as they were before - June is as cheeky as ever, Moira hard and domineering, and both of them are unpopular.
As always in Blyton's books, bad behaviour is severely and immediately punished - baddie Gwendoline has been very horrid to her father, and then he falls seriously ill and is expected to die. When Gwen regrets her behaviour, her father's life is saved... This is a horrible ending to Gwen's school years and, bad and foolish as she is, I feel very sorry for her!
So, what will the girls do after school? I think everyone knows - the goodies will have a wonderful and happy future, the baddies will not... It's a pity that life is not that simple.
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Excellant
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Recently re-read this for the first time on about ten years and had forgotten how great these books are. The story combines the sadness of finally leaving Malory Towers with both a look to the future and a review of how all the girls have progressed at their time at the school. Possibly not the best book in the series (probably the one set in the fifth form) but still brilliant. ONE THING: Why is Darrell, and not Sally head girl?????
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A trip back through time
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I, like so many others, first read this series when I was but a young girl.
On a recent holiday I re-read the entire collection in the space of a week. Top quality and I thoroughly recommend you pick them back up and have a read - no matter what age you are!
Word of warning though, it's probably best not read the entire series in such a short time. My mind did warp slightly and telling the barman his cocktails were "simply wizard" was not the highlight of my holiday...
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Young girls' inspiration
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The first time I read this I was captivated by the book. After so many years, when I re-read it, it still intrigue me so much.
Through the book, I can feel all the anger, joy and the laughter. Especially, Darell's excitement when she is the head girl.
It also gives a good illustration of live in a boarding school, since I went to one and I also enjoyed few of those midnight parties.
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Best of the series
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Probably the best of the series in that shows how all the main characters have learnt, or not learnt from their experiences over the last six years. Blends the sadness of leaving school with the excitement of university in a way which is refreshingly unsentimental.
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