What do you think?
Rate this book
Keeping Days #4
A Mustard Seed of Magic
Tish wants to write well and she wants to be of help to her friends, but first she has to understand herself.
224 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1977
1 person is currently reading
68 people want to read
About the author
Norma Johnston
57 books30 followersNorma Johnston was born in Ridgewood, New Jersey, USA, the only child of Marjorie (Pierce), a teacher and Charles Eugene Chambers Johnston, an engineer. She read voraciously--especially mysteries, to which her family was addicted. She was ducated at Ramsey public schools and Montclair State College, later studied acting at the American Theatre Wing and elsewhere, and received a teaching certificate from Montclair College. She was actress, director, designer, stylist, retailer, teacher, counselor, entrepreneur, preacher, editor, ... and in between all her other careers she was the author of more than 70 novels, mainly gothic romances for teens. She become a a full-time writer in 1973.
Johnston also wrote under the pseudonyms of Nicole St. John, Pamela Dryden, Lavinia Harris, Kate Chambers, Catherine E. Chambers, Elizabeth Bolton, and Adrian Robert.
Johnston also wrote under the pseudonyms of Nicole St. John, Pamela Dryden, Lavinia Harris, Kate Chambers, Catherine E. Chambers, Elizabeth Bolton, and Adrian Robert.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
September 13, 2015
How I came to this book is interesting. When I was 14, maybe, my grandmother asked me to look at the bookshelves upstairs to see if there were any books up there I wanted to keep. She was cleaning up. I found this and another one, so I took them, but I never determined which of my 5 aunts had owned it.
When I went to college, I was trolling the books wanted/offered mailing lists (this is 1996 or so) and found someone who was willing to purchase Mustard Seed of Magic from me for quite a bit of money. I backed out of the deal because it occurred to me that I hadn't read it yet, and I didn't want to sell it until I did.
It has now survived three moves, despite the massive purge of probably 500 books between those moves, and I'm finally getting around to it. I'm not sure it was worth such an extraordinary wait.
Tish is a middle child in a family of - I think - 5 or 6. Her father is recovering from cataract surgery and her mother has been covering for him at the college that I think teaches shorthand and other secretarial skills. Tish's boyfriend Kenneth is living far away, but they keep in touch through long expressive letters where they try to help each other through their separate problems. Tish's school friends are dealing with an adjustment to Mary Lou's return, after she had a baby out of wedlock (with Kenneth's brother maybe?) and their Christian values are getting in the way of her reintroduction to the school. Tish is longing to improve her writing, but isn't prepared to deal with the things her favorite English teacher tells her. And Tish's cousin (or brother-in-law?) is in his own little world, but Tish wants to bring him out.
It's a lot for Tish to deal with, but I think she does her best. This book reminds me a great deal of Anne of Green Gables or Emily of New Moon or Little Women: a well-meaning female character, living in a moral but maybe hypocritical town that insulates her from the wide world, striving to learn and do right by her friends and family while staying true to her needs and wants. Overall, not bad, but a little heavy-handed in the messages the reader was intending to take away.
It's important to note that this book is also one in a series, and I didn't read the earlier ones. There are dozens of references to things that happened last year, the year before, or even earlier, and while I got the basic gist, I felt like I was missing something by not reading those books. Not enough to stop reading this one to go to those, of course, but there was a lacking there.
My final note about this book - I don't think the title is suitable. The mustard seed and the magic theme didn't really show up until about a third into the book, I think, and it was only loosely woven into the story, in my opinion. I think a better title might be "Pandora's Box" or the dubious "A Year of Transition," or something like that.
When I went to college, I was trolling the books wanted/offered mailing lists (this is 1996 or so) and found someone who was willing to purchase Mustard Seed of Magic from me for quite a bit of money. I backed out of the deal because it occurred to me that I hadn't read it yet, and I didn't want to sell it until I did.
It has now survived three moves, despite the massive purge of probably 500 books between those moves, and I'm finally getting around to it. I'm not sure it was worth such an extraordinary wait.
Tish is a middle child in a family of - I think - 5 or 6. Her father is recovering from cataract surgery and her mother has been covering for him at the college that I think teaches shorthand and other secretarial skills. Tish's boyfriend Kenneth is living far away, but they keep in touch through long expressive letters where they try to help each other through their separate problems. Tish's school friends are dealing with an adjustment to Mary Lou's return, after she had a baby out of wedlock (with Kenneth's brother maybe?) and their Christian values are getting in the way of her reintroduction to the school. Tish is longing to improve her writing, but isn't prepared to deal with the things her favorite English teacher tells her. And Tish's cousin (or brother-in-law?) is in his own little world, but Tish wants to bring him out.
It's a lot for Tish to deal with, but I think she does her best. This book reminds me a great deal of Anne of Green Gables or Emily of New Moon or Little Women: a well-meaning female character, living in a moral but maybe hypocritical town that insulates her from the wide world, striving to learn and do right by her friends and family while staying true to her needs and wants. Overall, not bad, but a little heavy-handed in the messages the reader was intending to take away.
It's important to note that this book is also one in a series, and I didn't read the earlier ones. There are dozens of references to things that happened last year, the year before, or even earlier, and while I got the basic gist, I felt like I was missing something by not reading those books. Not enough to stop reading this one to go to those, of course, but there was a lacking there.
My final note about this book - I don't think the title is suitable. The mustard seed and the magic theme didn't really show up until about a third into the book, I think, and it was only loosely woven into the story, in my opinion. I think a better title might be "Pandora's Box" or the dubious "A Year of Transition," or something like that.
July 31, 2014
7/2014 I do think this is one of the strongest of the series. It's interesting to read the entire series over the course of one day, though that's not going to help with the way I run these books together in my head.
6/2010 Advanced navel-gazing by Tish Sterling. This book features the remarkable transformation of Brother Ben into a knight in shining armour- though some of us knew he had it in him all along. Johnston tackles all the teenage angst and then some in this slim volume- she rushes from plot point to plot point in a way that should feel headlong but really only feels like being fifteen.
6/2010 Advanced navel-gazing by Tish Sterling. This book features the remarkable transformation of Brother Ben into a knight in shining armour- though some of us knew he had it in him all along. Johnston tackles all the teenage angst and then some in this slim volume- she rushes from plot point to plot point in a way that should feel headlong but really only feels like being fifteen.
November 30, 2024
This series is not as good as I had remembered from when I was young, but I try to keep remembering that Tish IS a teenager...they are made to be irritating and self-involved!! And always think they are right. I do want to continue, and finish up the last two...but I don't think I'll need to revisit this series again.
August 10, 2016
A continuation of 6 months in the life of Tish Sterling leading up to her 16th birthday. In this book, Tish tries to rediscover her lost love of writing and enlists the help of Mrs. Owens, her former English teacher. Tish isn't quite prepared for what learning to write well brings her and once again she feels alienated from her friends. She also misses Kenneth Latham, who is struggling with his own problems in Pennsylvania. Mary Hodge is back in town and no one can seem to forget what she did. Tish tries to help Mary, but only makes the situation worse. With help from her brother Ben, her friends and Mrs. Owens, Tish finally comes to know who she is and know what she wants. This is my least favorite of the series. I found it just more of the same from the first book and I got tired of Tish being obnoxious and melodramatic. There is also quite a bit of religious philosophy and debate and deep introspection. I think the author tried too hard and put her own interests and thoughts into the plot which makes it seem unrealistic for a story narrated by a teenager.
June 19, 2010
I think I'm blending this and the Sanctuary Tree together a bit in my head, as I've just read them back to back.
Celinda is an awesome friend in both books. She rocks. I wish she were around in the Saranne books.
I also have a secret admiration for Aunt Kate.
But really, I don't know what else to say.
Celinda is an awesome friend in both books. She rocks. I wish she were around in the Saranne books.
I also have a secret admiration for Aunt Kate.
But really, I don't know what else to say.
January 25, 2013
A heartwarming look at an early 20th century family and a girl with ambitions of being a writer. Didn't know it was part of a series until I looked it up here - I read it as a standalone and it worked just fine.
June 7, 2008
Coming of age tale set in 1902. Book 4 in a series, it's the only one I own.
February 1, 2009
Very cute! I loved getting to see what day-to-day life was like for the girls at the turn of the century.
October 31, 2009
Almost done with the series. This one was good too...
Read
August 9, 2011"The fourth book in The Keeping Days family saga" -- this, I believe, was the tag line on the cover of the books in the early 80s... Tish becomes friends with Junius Allbright, if I recall correctly.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews