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My One Hundred Adventures #1
My One Hundred Adventures
THE WINNER OF a National Book Award, a Newbery Honor, and countless other awards has written her richest, most spirited book yet, filled with characters that readers will love, and never forget.
Jane is 12 years old, and she is ready for adventures, to move beyond the world of her siblings and single mother and their house by the sea, and step into the “know-not what.” And, over the summer, adventures do seem to find Jane, whether it’s a thrilling ride in a hot-air balloon, the appearances of a slew of possible fathers, or a weird new friendship with a preacher and psychic wannabe. Most important, there’s Jane’s discovery of what lies at the heart of all great adventures: that it’s not what happens to you that matters, but what you learn about yourself.
And don't miss Polly Horvath's Northward to the Moon, the sequel to My One Hundred Adventures.
Jane is 12 years old, and she is ready for adventures, to move beyond the world of her siblings and single mother and their house by the sea, and step into the “know-not what.” And, over the summer, adventures do seem to find Jane, whether it’s a thrilling ride in a hot-air balloon, the appearances of a slew of possible fathers, or a weird new friendship with a preacher and psychic wannabe. Most important, there’s Jane’s discovery of what lies at the heart of all great adventures: that it’s not what happens to you that matters, but what you learn about yourself.
And don't miss Polly Horvath's Northward to the Moon, the sequel to My One Hundred Adventures.
260 pages, Library Binding
First published August 11, 2008
49 people are currently reading
1589 people want to read
About the author
Polly Horvath
45 books300 followersPolly Horvath is the author of many books for young people, including Everything on a Waffle, The Pepins and Their Problems, The Canning Season and The Trolls. Her numerous awards include the Newbery Honor, the National Book Award for Young People's Literature, the Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor, the Vicky Metcalf Award for Children's Literature, the Mr. Christie Award, the international White Raven, and the Young Adult Canadian Book of the Year. Horvath grew up in Kalamazoo, Michigan. She attended the Canadian College of Dance in Toronto and the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance in New York City. She has taught ballet, waitressed, done temporary typing, and tended babies, but while doing these things she has always also written. Now that her children are in school, she spends the whole day writing, unless she sneaks out to buy groceries, lured away from her desk by the thought of fresh Cheez Whiz. She lives on Vancouver Island with her husband and two daughters.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 374 reviews
February 6, 2009
Putting this on the 12-14 shelf was a bit of a struggle. Because the book uses language and concepts that I found were very adult, such as when the 12-year old protaganist is sudddenly crucially aware of the passage of time, and that things will never be the same. Not that 12 year olds might not notice this, but not in the way the author conveyed. Also, the mother has several children by many different fathers - again, I'm not a prude, but it's so subtle but filled with subtext - I enjoyed the book, but it's tough to determine who might be the audience.
January 5, 2009
I had a hard time with this book. As with many books by Polly Horvath, it was hit and miss. On the one hand the story was very engaging. I loved the older female characters in the book, they were eccentric and vivid. On the other hand, the 12 year old narrator did not sound or feel 12 years old. I might have been more satisfied had Horvath chosen a 3rd person narration. The voice was very old, definitely adult. The effect, for me, was to make the intentional gaps in the girl's comprehension of what was going on, seem more like stupidity and less like childhood inexperience. Had the voice been younger these gaps would have reconciled. As it is, I had to keep reminding myself she was only 12.
December 4, 2013
A variation of this review is at my blog here.
This is a lovely book. I became a Horvath fan years ago with The Trolls and quite liked Everything on a Waffle. This one has the same episodic quality of these and feels a bit gentler too, somehow. It takes place in an unnamed Massachusetts town where the narrator, 12 year-old Jane, lives with her poet mother and younger siblings in a beach house. It is indeed a series of "adventures" that have a number of connecting threads (family, fathers, friendship, and more). There is a charm about this book and I recommend it highly.
Horvath always has a dry, deadpan humorous style that I've always loved. For example, in this book, at one point Jane mentions that her mother has a large stockpile of rice and there are other references to the fact that money and food are a bit scarce in their household. In a later chapter they are sitting about mourning the death of another character and that rice is elegantly referenced thus:
We don't feel much like having a barbecue now. We sit around and eat a little rice.
(And again a few paragraphs later when someone stops by to discuss the funeral.)
"Of course we will be there. We will all be there," says my mother and then offers Mrs. Merriweather a little rice, but she cannot stay. She has other arrangements to make.
There is something in this book that lingers with you. At least it sure is lingering with me.
This is a lovely book. I became a Horvath fan years ago with The Trolls and quite liked Everything on a Waffle. This one has the same episodic quality of these and feels a bit gentler too, somehow. It takes place in an unnamed Massachusetts town where the narrator, 12 year-old Jane, lives with her poet mother and younger siblings in a beach house. It is indeed a series of "adventures" that have a number of connecting threads (family, fathers, friendship, and more). There is a charm about this book and I recommend it highly.
Horvath always has a dry, deadpan humorous style that I've always loved. For example, in this book, at one point Jane mentions that her mother has a large stockpile of rice and there are other references to the fact that money and food are a bit scarce in their household. In a later chapter they are sitting about mourning the death of another character and that rice is elegantly referenced thus:
We don't feel much like having a barbecue now. We sit around and eat a little rice.
(And again a few paragraphs later when someone stops by to discuss the funeral.)
"Of course we will be there. We will all be there," says my mother and then offers Mrs. Merriweather a little rice, but she cannot stay. She has other arrangements to make.
There is something in this book that lingers with you. At least it sure is lingering with me.
January 25, 2009
Newbery committees have been accused of being humorless, or at least of discriminating against funny books when selecting the most distinguished children’s book of the year. Like Polly Horvath’s Newbery-honor book, Everything on a Waffle, My One Hundred Adventures is funny but also immerses readers into a specific time and place. The place is within shouting distance of the ocean, which may or may not be familiar to readers. But the time, early adolescence, is a time we all remember for “wanting something more…something I-know-not-what, which is what adventures are about.”
Beyond the constant presence of the sea, time is measured in this book in berries, with the passing of summer proceeding as jam jars are filled with first strawberries, then raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries. Summer itself is welcomed as “…the moon gently pulls back the layers of the year, leaving the best part open and free. So summer comes to me,” and how we yearn for it here in frigid Chicago!
Jane, oldest of four children who live in a cabin by the sea with their unconventional mom, falls into unlikely adventures with quirky characters. We come to know them through evocative images, for example, “…I felt so much like a candle on a cake ready to be lit”, which is as good a description of being twelve as I’ve ever read. Fourteen adventures are completed over the course of the novel, but of course Jane still has her whole life for the other 86. By the end, she has given up childhood’s magical thinking and grown into life-affirming wisdom.
I really liked this book and think it incorporates the characteristics of the best Newbery books, that is, child-friendliness and appeal on more than one level, humor but also a dimension of wisdom. I wish it the best of luck tomorrow.
Beyond the constant presence of the sea, time is measured in this book in berries, with the passing of summer proceeding as jam jars are filled with first strawberries, then raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries. Summer itself is welcomed as “…the moon gently pulls back the layers of the year, leaving the best part open and free. So summer comes to me,” and how we yearn for it here in frigid Chicago!
Jane, oldest of four children who live in a cabin by the sea with their unconventional mom, falls into unlikely adventures with quirky characters. We come to know them through evocative images, for example, “…I felt so much like a candle on a cake ready to be lit”, which is as good a description of being twelve as I’ve ever read. Fourteen adventures are completed over the course of the novel, but of course Jane still has her whole life for the other 86. By the end, she has given up childhood’s magical thinking and grown into life-affirming wisdom.
I really liked this book and think it incorporates the characteristics of the best Newbery books, that is, child-friendliness and appeal on more than one level, humor but also a dimension of wisdom. I wish it the best of luck tomorrow.
September 19, 2008
Twelve-year-old Jane is at that tender place we call adolescence, leaving childhood behind, yearning and aching for something she can't yet define. "As if itching and outgrown, my soul is twisting about my body wanting something more to do this summer than the usual wading in shallows and reading and building castles on the shore. I want something I know not what, which is what adventures are about." Jane wishes for adventures and when they come, fourteen of them, they form Jane's first steps away from her family and the place she loves.
I am an avowed Horvath fan but even taking that into account, I think this is a really outstanding book and it pops right up there on my list of potential Newberys. She captures just perfectly that tremulous age of wanting something yet not knowing what nor understanding why. The writing is lyrical, not only of the emotions but also the setting which is vividly realized. The trademark quirky characters are at once unique and universal and their encounters with Jane enable her start the biggest adventure of all - knowing herself. This is a delicious book that deserves to be read again and again.
I am an avowed Horvath fan but even taking that into account, I think this is a really outstanding book and it pops right up there on my list of potential Newberys. She captures just perfectly that tremulous age of wanting something yet not knowing what nor understanding why. The writing is lyrical, not only of the emotions but also the setting which is vividly realized. The trademark quirky characters are at once unique and universal and their encounters with Jane enable her start the biggest adventure of all - knowing herself. This is a delicious book that deserves to be read again and again.
October 24, 2008
Sigh! Frankly, this book bored me. The lyrical prose drew me in at first, and I wanted to love it, but after a few chapters, the story failed to grab me. I regret to admit that I skimmed the last half of the book.
May 28, 2019
Jane and her siblings live with their mother, a famous poet, in a small house by the ocean. A preacher woman, Nellie, ropes Jane into helping her distribute Bibles, and a local woman blackmails Jane into babysitting five children. Jane is pulled into the town drama, and discovers one of her mother’s past boyfriends might be Jane’s father.
I LOVED the writing style in this book! It’s beautifully poetic and insightful with poignant little observations.
But I did not like the story or the characters. The story is weird. Nellie, the preacher, thinks she has the power of energy healing and drags Jane into her quest for supernatural power. That whole storyline was idiotic and made no sense with the rest of the plot.
Jane’s mother has several boyfriends from her past who show up, and Jane wonders which of them fathered her and her siblings. But that storyline is never resolved, and both Jane and the reader are left wondering.
Jane herself never DOES anything. She just stands around waiting for things to happen to her. Only one time in the entire book does Jane actually take a decisive action. The rest of the time she waits for other people to do things, say things, and make the decisions. She is such a boring character.
But the writing! It’s just so entrancing and whimsical and poignant.
It almost makes up for the boring characters and random plot. Almost.
I LOVED the writing style in this book! It’s beautifully poetic and insightful with poignant little observations.
But I did not like the story or the characters. The story is weird. Nellie, the preacher, thinks she has the power of energy healing and drags Jane into her quest for supernatural power. That whole storyline was idiotic and made no sense with the rest of the plot.
Jane’s mother has several boyfriends from her past who show up, and Jane wonders which of them fathered her and her siblings. But that storyline is never resolved, and both Jane and the reader are left wondering.
Jane herself never DOES anything. She just stands around waiting for things to happen to her. Only one time in the entire book does Jane actually take a decisive action. The rest of the time she waits for other people to do things, say things, and make the decisions. She is such a boring character.
But the writing! It’s just so entrancing and whimsical and poignant.
It almost makes up for the boring characters and random plot. Almost.
December 5, 2008
Life is messy and unpredictable. Folks don’t always act the way they should – even grown-ups! Even parents! Unpleasant feelings tend to well up and pervade one’s mind like a miasma. But there is unexpected joy in life as well, often in the simplest things and during the oddest moments. Polly Horvath understands this.
12-year-old Jane is the oldest of four children. She lives with her single mom and her two brothers and one sister in a worn but beloved house on the beach, where her mom is apparently able to make a small living from writing poetry – she received a Pulitzer.
This summer, Jane inadvertently becomes the sidekick for Nellie Phipps, the preacher at church, with whom she goes around giving away bibles and searching for spiritual truth in some rather dubious places. A short trip in an air balloon during which Jane drops bibles from midair leads to a stint doing slave labor babysitting for a huge family of tiny messy children. Meanwhile, men keep appearing out of the blue, all of whom seem to have been her mother’s boyfriends at one time or another – whether they still are is hard to tell. Finally, there are old women with amazing hats and various illnesses, who must be prayed for and coddled. Thank goodness for Jane’s friend Ginny, who has a level head on her shoulders and a steady bead on her future as a fashion designer.
Jane tries to do the right thing and think the best of the people she meets – until she realizes that there is a reason that she keeps having negative, bitter thoughts and it’s not because she’s a bad person. These folks – Nellie Phipps and quite a few others – are behaving badly! They are taking advantage, being selfish, lying, and in general not being sterling examples of goodness.
These characters are delicious to find in a children’s book. Nellie Phipps, single-minded and outrageously self-centered despite her role as minister, rings absolutely true. How does a kid deal with someone like this? Probably a lot like Jane, who keeps hoping that Nellie (being a grown-up and a minister) has Jane’s and everyone else’s best interests at hear.
A character with a bit part, Dr. Callahan as the town’s long-suffering doctor is priceless. He just wants a bit of peace, but he has to deal with all the old ladies and their ailments. At the funeral of one such old lady, Mrs. Parks, Dr. Callahan tries in vain to tell everyone that she had bursitis, not the thrombosis Mrs. Parks had complained of. Finally, he snaps, “I’m telling you, she was in the PINK of health. And that’s what I told her. The pink. The silly fool wanted to go into the hospital… It is my opinion that you send one old lady to the hospital and they all want to go.” This understandably leads to some heated (and hilarious) discussion, quite disrupting the funeral.
Jane’s mom is a bit of an enigma. She avoids most people and hates making public appearances, tending rather to float through life, tending to her children and making jam. That all these men suddenly return to her life this one summer is somewhat of an unconvincing coincidence – who are they and why did they all come back? Are any of them the fathers of Jane or the other kids? Which ones? Does it matter? I would think it does matter, and yet Jane eventually makes a conscious decision to not bring it up with either her mother or the one man who sticks around. (Another man suddenly runs off to marry a student, a third man apparently drowns – or does he? Another mystery, and a fourth lives a quiet life reading in his trailer).
There is so much to this deceptively simple book – I could go on and on about the various intriguing plot lines and characters. To summarize my favorite thing about the book – the messiness and strangeness of life can lead to important insights that flit through your thoughts and then vanish, altering your perception of the world forever. My library copy is bristling with post-its that I’ll have to pull off before I return it, so here is just one tiny example:
“But Mrs. Merriweather probably wouldn’t understand this. She was busy at her sister’s bringing berries. She has had another sort of day and will never know ours. Suddenly I realize that everyone in the whole world is, at the end of a day, staring at a dusky horizon, owner of a day that no one else will ever know. I see all those millions of different days crowded into the one.”
This is my favorite book of 2008, I think.
Gr. 4 - 7
12-year-old Jane is the oldest of four children. She lives with her single mom and her two brothers and one sister in a worn but beloved house on the beach, where her mom is apparently able to make a small living from writing poetry – she received a Pulitzer.
This summer, Jane inadvertently becomes the sidekick for Nellie Phipps, the preacher at church, with whom she goes around giving away bibles and searching for spiritual truth in some rather dubious places. A short trip in an air balloon during which Jane drops bibles from midair leads to a stint doing slave labor babysitting for a huge family of tiny messy children. Meanwhile, men keep appearing out of the blue, all of whom seem to have been her mother’s boyfriends at one time or another – whether they still are is hard to tell. Finally, there are old women with amazing hats and various illnesses, who must be prayed for and coddled. Thank goodness for Jane’s friend Ginny, who has a level head on her shoulders and a steady bead on her future as a fashion designer.
Jane tries to do the right thing and think the best of the people she meets – until she realizes that there is a reason that she keeps having negative, bitter thoughts and it’s not because she’s a bad person. These folks – Nellie Phipps and quite a few others – are behaving badly! They are taking advantage, being selfish, lying, and in general not being sterling examples of goodness.
These characters are delicious to find in a children’s book. Nellie Phipps, single-minded and outrageously self-centered despite her role as minister, rings absolutely true. How does a kid deal with someone like this? Probably a lot like Jane, who keeps hoping that Nellie (being a grown-up and a minister) has Jane’s and everyone else’s best interests at hear.
A character with a bit part, Dr. Callahan as the town’s long-suffering doctor is priceless. He just wants a bit of peace, but he has to deal with all the old ladies and their ailments. At the funeral of one such old lady, Mrs. Parks, Dr. Callahan tries in vain to tell everyone that she had bursitis, not the thrombosis Mrs. Parks had complained of. Finally, he snaps, “I’m telling you, she was in the PINK of health. And that’s what I told her. The pink. The silly fool wanted to go into the hospital… It is my opinion that you send one old lady to the hospital and they all want to go.” This understandably leads to some heated (and hilarious) discussion, quite disrupting the funeral.
Jane’s mom is a bit of an enigma. She avoids most people and hates making public appearances, tending rather to float through life, tending to her children and making jam. That all these men suddenly return to her life this one summer is somewhat of an unconvincing coincidence – who are they and why did they all come back? Are any of them the fathers of Jane or the other kids? Which ones? Does it matter? I would think it does matter, and yet Jane eventually makes a conscious decision to not bring it up with either her mother or the one man who sticks around. (Another man suddenly runs off to marry a student, a third man apparently drowns – or does he? Another mystery, and a fourth lives a quiet life reading in his trailer).
There is so much to this deceptively simple book – I could go on and on about the various intriguing plot lines and characters. To summarize my favorite thing about the book – the messiness and strangeness of life can lead to important insights that flit through your thoughts and then vanish, altering your perception of the world forever. My library copy is bristling with post-its that I’ll have to pull off before I return it, so here is just one tiny example:
“But Mrs. Merriweather probably wouldn’t understand this. She was busy at her sister’s bringing berries. She has had another sort of day and will never know ours. Suddenly I realize that everyone in the whole world is, at the end of a day, staring at a dusky horizon, owner of a day that no one else will ever know. I see all those millions of different days crowded into the one.”
This is my favorite book of 2008, I think.
Gr. 4 - 7
May 18, 2009
I listened to this book on my iPod. It was on the School Library Journal list of best books for youth for 2008. I'm not sure if this is young adult or juvenile fiction.
Jane Fielding, the star of the book, is 12 years old. She lives in a beautiful beach town in Massachusetts with her poet mother and her 3 siblings. Jane has deep thoughts. I don't know any 12-year-olds like Jane. Sometimes her thoughts are downright lyrical. But she is incredibly naive about life. Until the summer she is 12, had she never wondered about the idea of having a father? And it's just annoying that all 4 of the children in that family have different fathers, and no one seems to wonder about how that mom conceived those kids. Just because the mom takes good care of her children and makes alot of homemade jam doesn't mean that she is a responsible adult. She is portrayed as kind and caring and a model mother. It never mentions how old Jane's younger siblings are--but it kind of seems like they're about 8, 6, and 4. Somewhere before the events of the book began, and when Jane's mom would have been pregnant with the now-4-year-old---did Jane ever wonder or question about where a father might be? It's all treated so casually that this mom just happens to produce babies as a result of her liasons with men that she doesn't talk about and who are not part of her life or her children's life. She just has 4 children from 4 different men and it's no big deal. Sheesh.
And all the stuff about the transparent poodle was just tedious rather than amusing. To me, almost everything in the book that was supposed to be quirky or funny was just tedious.
Jane Fielding, the star of the book, is 12 years old. She lives in a beautiful beach town in Massachusetts with her poet mother and her 3 siblings. Jane has deep thoughts. I don't know any 12-year-olds like Jane. Sometimes her thoughts are downright lyrical. But she is incredibly naive about life. Until the summer she is 12, had she never wondered about the idea of having a father? And it's just annoying that all 4 of the children in that family have different fathers, and no one seems to wonder about how that mom conceived those kids. Just because the mom takes good care of her children and makes alot of homemade jam doesn't mean that she is a responsible adult. She is portrayed as kind and caring and a model mother. It never mentions how old Jane's younger siblings are--but it kind of seems like they're about 8, 6, and 4. Somewhere before the events of the book began, and when Jane's mom would have been pregnant with the now-4-year-old---did Jane ever wonder or question about where a father might be? It's all treated so casually that this mom just happens to produce babies as a result of her liasons with men that she doesn't talk about and who are not part of her life or her children's life. She just has 4 children from 4 different men and it's no big deal. Sheesh.
And all the stuff about the transparent poodle was just tedious rather than amusing. To me, almost everything in the book that was supposed to be quirky or funny was just tedious.
January 27, 2009
I have read several other books by Polly Horvath(Everything on a Waffle and the Peppins and Their Problems being my favorites) so I was very excited to hear about her new book "My One Hundred Adventures" as it looked interesting as it is about a girl named Jane and her adventures. I really tried to like this book, In fact I did at first but then Nellie(the preacher) and the Gourds (who blackmail Jane into babysitting their very hard to handle children)show up and really got on my nerves, I felt like screaming at Jane for being in my opinion dumb i.e. when Nellie gets her into a stolen air balloon to drop bibles to people way out in the country and she just does it even though she doesn't want to! Personally I think she should have tried to land the balloon. (she manages to later on) But the fact that she thought Nellie was her friend (it later turns out she isn't) I felt it was very obvious she wasn't really and just wanted help delivering bibles. As for the Gourds it turns out that they were blackmailing her for something she didn't even do! Mrs. Gourd claims that one of the bibles Jane drops out of the basket hit one of her babies on the head and may have caused permanent damage. However that turns out to be untrue. In conclusion I extremely disliked this book especially since I stayed up late to finish it in the hopes that it improved. It didn't
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 3, 2008
My nine year old saw this book, picked it up to read it, and abandoned it after a chapter or so. And I get why.
Horvath writes beautifully. Adult readers--and Newbery committee types--adore her for that. And she writes wonderful, quirky characters and interesting plot twists which make books like Everything On A Wafflefun and readable for kids who don't give a durn about how many (ahem)librarians or teachers adore a book. They just want something they'll LIKE.
She doesn't succeed with the second part here. As someone said, this is more of a book about childhood written for adults than a book about childhood for children. Some of the plot twists go beyond eccentric to beyond belief.There are too many things going on below the surface that an adult may grasp but a child, looking at the world with a child's eyes will just not get, and so they may feel that something's been left out.
I'm not saying that you can't write a book for kids that has something for grownups to it--heck, that's my whole theory of a great kids book in a nutshell. But this one just doesn't qualify as a great book either for kids or adults.
Horvath writes beautifully. Adult readers--and Newbery committee types--adore her for that. And she writes wonderful, quirky characters and interesting plot twists which make books like Everything On A Wafflefun and readable for kids who don't give a durn about how many (ahem)librarians or teachers adore a book. They just want something they'll LIKE.
She doesn't succeed with the second part here. As someone said, this is more of a book about childhood written for adults than a book about childhood for children. Some of the plot twists go beyond eccentric to beyond belief.There are too many things going on below the surface that an adult may grasp but a child, looking at the world with a child's eyes will just not get, and so they may feel that something's been left out.
I'm not saying that you can't write a book for kids that has something for grownups to it--heck, that's my whole theory of a great kids book in a nutshell. But this one just doesn't qualify as a great book either for kids or adults.
October 28, 2008
This book was so lovely I wanted to create a special shelf for it. Poetic, funny, charming. It reminded me of Criss Cross in that it perfectly captured what it is like just before puberty.
March 9, 2009
I hate when authors wax nostalgically about childhood when they are supposed to be writing as a child. Who actually thought that way when they were a child!~!!
March 23, 2019
I feel that I know exactly how this book came to be written.
One day, Polly Horvath came home from the grocery store just having purchased a bag of lemons and strawberry jam. It was a beautiful day and she thought she would write a little something. So she sat down and began to write whatever came into her head. “This is fun,” said Polly. The next day, she did the same thing. She just wrote whatever she wanted to with no thought as to where the story or characters would go. Finally, she had written 245 pages. “There,” said Polly. “I’m not sure what that story was about, but it was lots of fun writing it!”
Yep, that’s how I felt while reading it. Fun but not much direction and some really bizarre things that felt just a trifle thrown in there.
Favorite quotes:
"I want something I know not what, which is what adventures are about. The step into the know-not-what."
“It’s better to be fooled 100 times than never to look.” (Page 9)
“Suddenly I realize that everyone in the whole world is, at the end of the day, staring at a dusky horizon, owner of a day that no one else will ever know.” (Page 31-32)
“Never have I felt so much like a candle on a cake ready to be lit.” (Page 47)
“All our lives are mundane but all our lives are also poetry.” (138)
One day, Polly Horvath came home from the grocery store just having purchased a bag of lemons and strawberry jam. It was a beautiful day and she thought she would write a little something. So she sat down and began to write whatever came into her head. “This is fun,” said Polly. The next day, she did the same thing. She just wrote whatever she wanted to with no thought as to where the story or characters would go. Finally, she had written 245 pages. “There,” said Polly. “I’m not sure what that story was about, but it was lots of fun writing it!”
Yep, that’s how I felt while reading it. Fun but not much direction and some really bizarre things that felt just a trifle thrown in there.
Favorite quotes:
"I want something I know not what, which is what adventures are about. The step into the know-not-what."
“It’s better to be fooled 100 times than never to look.” (Page 9)
“Suddenly I realize that everyone in the whole world is, at the end of the day, staring at a dusky horizon, owner of a day that no one else will ever know.” (Page 31-32)
“Never have I felt so much like a candle on a cake ready to be lit.” (Page 47)
“All our lives are mundane but all our lives are also poetry.” (138)
April 13, 2022
Even though this is an easy read, it’s well written with humour and has soft family morals. The author is gifted with the lovely knack of saying a lot but using few words.
All the adventures this girl had over one summer reminded me of Anne of Green Gables. I think this is intended for a teen to young adult audience but the story appeals to adults equally. I enjoyed reading about her escapades with her best friend…I long to be so carefree again to enjoy endless long summer days.
The author has drawn me in to want to read more. It helps that she now resides nearby. Somehow my copy is even autographed. Bonus.
All the adventures this girl had over one summer reminded me of Anne of Green Gables. I think this is intended for a teen to young adult audience but the story appeals to adults equally. I enjoyed reading about her escapades with her best friend…I long to be so carefree again to enjoy endless long summer days.
The author has drawn me in to want to read more. It helps that she now resides nearby. Somehow my copy is even autographed. Bonus.
March 23, 2025
This is a fascinating tale of adventures, some fantastic, some horrific, some transcendent, some tragic, and some rather ordinary, that the narrator experiences during her summer vacation.
interesting quote:
"All our lives are mundane. But all our lives are also poetry."
interesting quote:
"All our lives are mundane. But all our lives are also poetry."
May 20, 2017
Very mild spoiler-- nothing huge!
So I was *supposed to be* reading Dracula, but I couldn't resist setting that aside to read Polly Horvath's latest. Her books are so full of humor and quirky characters, and are surely more joyful to read than dark tales of vampires. My One Hundred Adventures is no exception.
Jane Fielding is the oldest child of her poet single mother. She loves her life on the Massachusetts coast, but feels a longing for something more so she prays for one hundred adventures. The book chronicles her first 14 interesting events, and some of them are quite amazing, many are funny. I really love Horvath's writing, and there are several wonderful passages that I could read over and over. A number of Jane's adventures relate to the secret past of Jane's mother, who is sort of an interesting, mysterious character who has evidently had several romances without the children ever knowing, or caring too much, who their father is. I found that rather strange, but appreciated the totally clean way in which the subject matter is handled.
My one personal complaint about the book deals with the ending. Throughout the book, Jane is trying to figure out how prayer and miracles work, but is mostly very poorly guided by the local minister who is far more concerned with mysticism and channelers than actual Christian doctrine. Because Nellie, the minister, is basically a quack, Jane ends with a lot more doubts than she started with and I was unsure what her point about faith actually was by the end.
I would be curious to discuss this book with others and see what they thought.
So I was *supposed to be* reading Dracula, but I couldn't resist setting that aside to read Polly Horvath's latest. Her books are so full of humor and quirky characters, and are surely more joyful to read than dark tales of vampires. My One Hundred Adventures is no exception.
Jane Fielding is the oldest child of her poet single mother. She loves her life on the Massachusetts coast, but feels a longing for something more so she prays for one hundred adventures. The book chronicles her first 14 interesting events, and some of them are quite amazing, many are funny. I really love Horvath's writing, and there are several wonderful passages that I could read over and over. A number of Jane's adventures relate to the secret past of Jane's mother, who is sort of an interesting, mysterious character who has evidently had several romances without the children ever knowing, or caring too much, who their father is. I found that rather strange, but appreciated the totally clean way in which the subject matter is handled.
My one personal complaint about the book deals with the ending. Throughout the book, Jane is trying to figure out how prayer and miracles work, but is mostly very poorly guided by the local minister who is far more concerned with mysticism and channelers than actual Christian doctrine. Because Nellie, the minister, is basically a quack, Jane ends with a lot more doubts than she started with and I was unsure what her point about faith actually was by the end.
I would be curious to discuss this book with others and see what they thought.
January 28, 2010
The language in this book is wonderful. It is lyrical and soft, almost old-fashioned despite a few references to the modern day, and the reader is treated with intelligence. We follow twelve-year-old Jane through her summer, a summer of growth, change and education, as she realizes that the simple life she has till now lived, in a small house on the beach, is more complicated than she could have imagined. She does indeed have adventures, which are complicated by the strong characters in the book. People move in and out of her life in the dreamy way that children experience, and like many children she often feels powerless, as though she has to take on all of life's worries by herself.
I had a whole paragraph here about my thoughts on Jane's mother, who is a caring but somewhat flighty character, who has four children with four different fathers. In looking it over, I realized that Horvath was likely trying to get feelings such as mine aroused in her readers. There aren't easy answers and life isn't simple in this book. Questions arise that aren't answered, and people behave in ways that others might find irrational. It is, I think, one of the strengths of this book.
The one qualm I had with the book was that Jane didn't feel like a twelve year old. I could have attributed this to the book being Jane's memories of her twelve-year-old summer, but it's written in present-tense. Jane certainly seemed wise and knowing beyond her years, which clashed with the typically childlike assumptions and decisions she made in the course of the book.
I had a whole paragraph here about my thoughts on Jane's mother, who is a caring but somewhat flighty character, who has four children with four different fathers. In looking it over, I realized that Horvath was likely trying to get feelings such as mine aroused in her readers. There aren't easy answers and life isn't simple in this book. Questions arise that aren't answered, and people behave in ways that others might find irrational. It is, I think, one of the strengths of this book.
The one qualm I had with the book was that Jane didn't feel like a twelve year old. I could have attributed this to the book being Jane's memories of her twelve-year-old summer, but it's written in present-tense. Jane certainly seemed wise and knowing beyond her years, which clashed with the typically childlike assumptions and decisions she made in the course of the book.
December 12, 2008
A sweet, lyrical summertime storybook.
Jane, her three siblings, and her mother live an idyllic life on the beach, but she's starting to feel restless. At the beginning of summer, she decides she's is ready for adventures -- one hundred of them -- and sets out to make them happen. Along the way are the usual Horvath cast of eccentric characters and surreal plot twists, from a minister who thinks herself psychic, to the horrible Gourd children, to the simultaneous arrival of all of her mother's ex-boyfriends. When the summer concludes, Jane realizes that adventures aren't something you seek out -- they happen whether you want them or not. What you need to do is learn to enjoy the ride.
This book is excellent, but I didn't enjoy it as much as Horvath's other books, notably because it isn't as laugh-out-loud funny as the others (especially The Trolls). I also had difficulty at the beginning of the book pinning down the time period (with references to home-canning food, I initially thought it was set in the 1950s. But no, it's contemporary).
My other main quibble is this: Jane's mother is revealed to be a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, and yet we never -- ever -- see her do much besides childcare and jam-making. How unfair is that?
Jane, her three siblings, and her mother live an idyllic life on the beach, but she's starting to feel restless. At the beginning of summer, she decides she's is ready for adventures -- one hundred of them -- and sets out to make them happen. Along the way are the usual Horvath cast of eccentric characters and surreal plot twists, from a minister who thinks herself psychic, to the horrible Gourd children, to the simultaneous arrival of all of her mother's ex-boyfriends. When the summer concludes, Jane realizes that adventures aren't something you seek out -- they happen whether you want them or not. What you need to do is learn to enjoy the ride.
This book is excellent, but I didn't enjoy it as much as Horvath's other books, notably because it isn't as laugh-out-loud funny as the others (especially The Trolls). I also had difficulty at the beginning of the book pinning down the time period (with references to home-canning food, I initially thought it was set in the 1950s. But no, it's contemporary).
My other main quibble is this: Jane's mother is revealed to be a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, and yet we never -- ever -- see her do much besides childcare and jam-making. How unfair is that?
November 8, 2010
Jane loves her life, but she finds it just a tad predictable. She is now 12 years old and feels that she is ready for some good old-fashioned adventures. And of course, when you are ready for adventure, that seems to be when they start finding you. Jane’s uncoventional yet predictable life starts being a whole lot less predictable. There’s the ride in the accidentally hi-jacked hot air balloon and its consequences. There are several men from her mother’s past that may or may not be her father. And finally there’s the wanna-be psychic preacher friend who is the biggest trouble of all.
Of course, although written as a series of adventure vignettes, Jane’s biggest adventure is learning about herself. This sweet, quiet, well-written tale is a welcome relief to the more action packed adventure books out there. Although it probably wouldn’t appeal to action-oriented boys as much (Jane’s adventures don’t involve treasure, kidnapping, or blowing anything up) as girls, it still is a great read for anyone over the age of 10. A generally calm read (there are a few tense scenes, but they are rare), this book is great for rainy day reading.
Of course, although written as a series of adventure vignettes, Jane’s biggest adventure is learning about herself. This sweet, quiet, well-written tale is a welcome relief to the more action packed adventure books out there. Although it probably wouldn’t appeal to action-oriented boys as much (Jane’s adventures don’t involve treasure, kidnapping, or blowing anything up) as girls, it still is a great read for anyone over the age of 10. A generally calm read (there are a few tense scenes, but they are rare), this book is great for rainy day reading.
October 7, 2008
Another winner from Horvath. In this one, 12-year-old Jane prays for adventures to fill her summer, and her prayers seem to be answered. From mysterious men, delivering Bibles via balloon, and wading through marshes looking for transparent portals, Jane's summer is filled with everday intrigue and drama.
But guilt clouds Jane's days and especially her nights when she apparently has damaged a baby for life. Her pennance? Watching the baby and the holy-terrors that are the baby's brothers and sisters.
With Horvath's trademark quirkiness, wit, and thoughfulness, "My One Hundred Adventures" is an engrossing, slightly surreal story about a girl whose perspective on the world is beginning to shift into adulthood. It's great at capturing the thoughts and ponderings about life that an adolescent might begin to think about but may not quite be ready to grasp. With great attention to detail and with funny asides, this is certainly a rich read. If this is eligible for the Newbery, I would consider it a contender.
But guilt clouds Jane's days and especially her nights when she apparently has damaged a baby for life. Her pennance? Watching the baby and the holy-terrors that are the baby's brothers and sisters.
With Horvath's trademark quirkiness, wit, and thoughfulness, "My One Hundred Adventures" is an engrossing, slightly surreal story about a girl whose perspective on the world is beginning to shift into adulthood. It's great at capturing the thoughts and ponderings about life that an adolescent might begin to think about but may not quite be ready to grasp. With great attention to detail and with funny asides, this is certainly a rich read. If this is eligible for the Newbery, I would consider it a contender.
December 16, 2016
My One Hundred Adventures has been my favorite book for a long time. Polly Horvath does a great job of making the book interesting and fun to read. It has an amazing plot, and has great characters. It is a very creative book, and almost a fantasy story.
I like how it is written from Jane’s perspective. She provides such great details and has a great outlook on life. Each one of her adventures are so unexpected and different from the the last. Jane’s mother is a very interesting part of the story because her personality and how she raises her children is so wonderfully strange. Their beach cottage is cool, because Jane mentions that they are the only ones who live on the beach year-round.
I really like this book and I would definitely recommend reading it. It is very believable because anything in this book could actually happen. It is just the right length, and not confusing and very well written.
I like how it is written from Jane’s perspective. She provides such great details and has a great outlook on life. Each one of her adventures are so unexpected and different from the the last. Jane’s mother is a very interesting part of the story because her personality and how she raises her children is so wonderfully strange. Their beach cottage is cool, because Jane mentions that they are the only ones who live on the beach year-round.
I really like this book and I would definitely recommend reading it. It is very believable because anything in this book could actually happen. It is just the right length, and not confusing and very well written.
August 6, 2009
A young adult fantasy about a twelve-year-old girl from a small town who prays for one hundred adventures and gets them. I call it a "fantasy" even though there are no magical elements here, unless you count a New Age preacher who believes in her own healing powers, but she's farcical anyway. But with purely realistic elements pulled together in absolutely bizarre and hilarious ways, this book becomes a fantasy. The funniest adventure occurs early on when the protagonist is distributing Bibles with the preacher, but laugh-out-loud lines are interspersed throughout the book. You might say it has a bit of an atheistic perspective in that the character concludes, "I don't believe in anything" and her mother says, "You don't have to be good," but I didn't read this for its moral lessons. I read it for laughs, and it delivered.
January 25, 2009
This book teemed over with beautifully descriptive prose, and a la Horvath, also featured a fair share of eccentricity and wit. Strip all of that away, however, and I'm afraid you're not left with very much. Too many characters were unlikable and/or underdeveloped, and Jane did not seem at all like an authentic 12-year old to me. I think narrating the book in the present tense especially contributed to its problems: here you are, the reader, caught up in the moment, and then Jane will say something, or make an observation, that is preternaturally poetic or wise beyond her years. It was distracting and it diminished the emotional pull of Jane's situation.
August 19, 2019
Subtle and surreal. Brilliant, but of limited appeal, esp. among children. Fans of Kevin Henkes (ex. Bird Lake Moon and Meryl Streep's "Mama Mia" might like it the most. I need to read it again to appreciate it more... I read it one night, messing up my sleep, as it was so engaging... but I can't reread it this month as I need to let it simmer on the back burner.
I see there's a sequel or companion? How could that be? I'll have to check it out....
I see there's a sequel or companion? How could that be? I'll have to check it out....
September 22, 2008
I wanted to give this book two 'ratings': one that is as high as it gets for the humor, language, and just plain good writing, and one that is mighty low for a character voice that miserably failed to work for me throughout. I rather wish PH had written this book in the third person or something. What comes out of this 12-year-old's mouth is quite unbelievable for a 12-year-old, and I could never get over that. Just didn't ring anywhere near true for me.
January 9, 2015
One of the most memorable book scenes ever is Jane throwing bibles out of a hot air balloon. I'll never forget that, and the rest of the story is just about what happens when you let yourself get roped into throwing bibles out of a hot air balloon. If there's a moral to the story, it's intended to apply to that specific group of people. And if there isn't a moral to the story, well, then it's a good story.
January 22, 2013
Beautifully written story of a girl seeking more independence and adventures in her life. In true Horvath style, it features several quirky characters and somewhat outlandish exploits. It is beautifully written with many quotable lines. I need to go back through it and copy some of them down. It is one of my favorites of hers.
May 18, 2017
This book was really cute and I was very impressed by the way things were worded, and the great amount of detail. The book included a lot of emotions and you could tell how Jane felt all throughout the story.
January 20, 2009
I found this book depressing. After reading such good reviews I expected to enjoy it.
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