Play Book Tag discussion

I am not quite sure when in February I reread this as I am woefully far behind in my reviews. Or it could even have been in early March. I have written a couple for books I read after this, I think.

So, back to this book. When I first read it as a child it wasn't a #1--there was no sequel yet--that was written more than 60 years after the first one and I'm not sure if I'll read or not. The blurb of this book is very misleading since it makes it sound like a sweet, fluffy romance, which it is not. Yes, there is some romance between a couple who do get married and that part is rather sweet and at first perhaps a wee but fluffy, and to be fair I'd forgotten almost all of this book so didn't even remember this before I read it--as a bookworm I've read so many books over my life that I really can't remember a lot about every book.

This book has very real problems in it, including hardship, suffering and tragedy--not maudlin, but very real. It does read a bit like a y/a book, but it was written before that was a genre, but it could well be that it was for younger readers, but make no mistake, it has some depth behind all of it.

I re-read this during Poll Tally and was impressed with how well it held up. In fact, it was a favorite in my youth - first read as a teen and again a couple times in my 20s. I always remembered the hardships and the new life starting at the end - very emotional.

Interestingly I too had forgotten the beginning sweet romance part of it all.

I have not read the sequel, and I'm not sure if I will, actually. I don't know that it needs a sequel.