What do You think about What Katy Did (2000)?
I read this many years ago, but I still remember it fondly. It's a wonderful old classic like Anne of Green Gables, but it is shocking how underrated this book is. It's one of these books filled with the adventures (and misadventures) of a spirited girl named Katy Carr, though her siblings also play a part in this book (albeit smaller)One can only wonder how Katy would have fared today after her accident. With today's medical technology, she probably would have been on her feet a LOT more quickly - and I could say the same for Helen. I felt bad for Helen, and felt that she should NOT have given up her finance due to her own accident. Helen is a wonderful and warm person who deserved her own happiness and just to give it up to make her finance not feel obligated to 'take care' of her, I did not like that. If the same happened to her finance, I doubt he would have made the same sacrifice she did. But this is a book written in a time where women still had to deal with double standards as a part of daily life.What happened to Katy was hard for her, but her long recuperation has taught her many lessons, and she actually becomes a better person in the end for the lessons that the 'School of Life' has taught her. This is overall a great book, if you liked 'Anne of Green Gables' or 'A Tree Grows in Brooklyn', you should like this book.
—Delicious Strawberry
I loathe this book.I'll concede that it's enjoyable for the first few chapters. Katy Carr is a tall, rambunctious tomboy who's constantly getting into "scrapes". Her prissy and dignified Aunt Izzy despairs of her wild, messy, nature, but her younger brothers and sisters all think she's the greatest thing ever. Katy is a writer and storyteller with zillions of great ideas, and she's the ringleader of the family, and Papa's favourite. If Coolidge had just kept the story like that, it would have been a great book. But then Cousin Helen arrives and things start to go downhill. Helen was rendered an invalid in a carriage crash several years previously (we assume she's paralyzed from the waste down) but she is a saint, and she is always kind to everyone and has ABSOLUTELY NO FLAWS WHATSOEVER.A character like this can ruin a book, but it only gets worse from there. The day after Cousin Helen leaves, Aunt Izzy forbids Katy from swinging on the new swing in the shed. This is because the staple holding the swing up has come loose, but Aunt Izzy won't tell Katy that, believing that children should obey their elders without question. Katy, not altogether unreasonably, thinks Aunt Izzy is forbidding her to swing just to be difficult, and swings anyway; predictably, the swing comes loose and Katy sprains her spine. This renders Katy an invalid for a period of three or so years, and in that time, Katy loses every ounce of spunk and creativity she ever had. She transforms into a perfect little housewife, and becomes obsessed with what is ladylike, and what is not; in short, becomes a completely nauseating Little Miss Perfect. (To such an extent that in the next book, What Katy Did At School, she starts a "Society for the Suppression of Unladylike Conduct.) Excuse me while I go vomit. Katy is being punished by the author for her spunk, her individuality, her budding sexuality, her unwillingness to obey every order that she's given without question--everything, in short, that makes her an enjoyable character, and indeed, human being. This book is irritating and anti-feminist and I despise it.
—CheshRCat
Twelve year old Katy Carr and her five brothers and sisters have all kinds of fun adventures. A thicket becomes "Paradise", a hayloft a place for a "feast", and the entire house a playground for games invented by Katy. Katy means well, but is impulsive and irresponsible and is constantly getting into scrapes and trouble. After the Carr's Cousin Helen visits, Katy vows to be more like Cousin Helen, who is saint-like despite the fact that she had a bad accident and hasn't been able to walk for years. Unfortunately, Katy gets into the worst scrape of her life the very next day - disobeying her Aunt Izzie, she herself has a terrible accident. It will take Katy a long time to recover and in the course of her recovery she grows into a beautiful, responsible young woman. I loved reading "What Katy Did" as a child and it's still fun to read as an adult. Written in the 1870's, it is definitely old-fashioned, but it makes me yearn for the days when life was so much simpler. Susan Coolidge writes as if she is sitting opposite the reader, verbally telling the story and uses words that children might use such as "honestest" which makes the book a pleasant read. Coolidge also includes humor that children won't get, but adults will, such as when Katy gives Aunt Izzie $7.25 and a long list of Christmas presents to buy with that small amount of money. Katy is a very realistic heroine; yes, she gets into mischief, but what child doesn't, and she means well. The rest of the children are equally engaging, for me Elsie stands out. Cousin Helen is indeed saintly, almost unbelievable in her goodness, but Coolidge makes her believable also. "What Katy Did" is a nice, old-fashioned read.
—Drebbles
