Daddy-Long-Legs (by Jean Webster) Review

The book is mostly written in letter format, so I thought I'd review it in the same format.

Dear Reader,

I loved this book. I really did. It was charming and sweet and witty. Very heartwarming. Another book to curl up with when you could use a little cheering up (I seem to be especially fond of these books).

Judy Abbott is an orphan who is unexpectedly given the opportunity to attend college. Her mysterious benefactor only has one requirement, that she writes a letter to him once a month updating him on her progress. Judy is quite the correspondent - she writes much more often than once a month and she really fills Daddy-Long-Legs (her nickname for the benefactor, since she only caught a glimpse of his long legs) in on her days at college.  

The letters are funny and irreverent and just delightful to read, but there is a more serious side to Judy, too. She gets downright philosophical sometimes. She writes in one letter,

"It isn't the great big pleasures that count the most; it's making a great deal out of the little ones - I've discovered the true secret of happiness, Daddy, and that is to live in the now. Not to be for ever regretting the past, or anticipating the future; but to get the most that you can out of this very instant...Most people don't live; they just race. They are trying to reach some goal far away on the horizon, and in the heat of the going they get so breathless and panting that they lose all sight of the beautiful, tranquil country they are passing through; and then the first thing they know, they are old and worn out, and it doesn't make any difference whether they've reached the goal or no. I've decided to sit down by the way and pile up a lot of little happinesses."

Don't you think that's wise? I'm very interested in the whole idea of happiness, what it means, how to attain it, if there is any such thing, etc. And I think gratitude is an essential component of happiness. Sometimes the little things - a new book or bottle of nail polish or a letter in the mail - are everything. And if you think about it, little moments comprise so much more of life than big things. How often do birthdays and graduations and weddings and those milestone events occur (not that they can't be perfectly wonderful)? And how often can you borrow a book or paint your nails or write something? Take a walk and look at the stars? So if you want to be happy more often, perhaps appreciating the little things would help.

Anyway, I highly recommend this book. It's become one of my favorites, I think (although it's hard to play favorites with books). If you have ever read any books from the Anne of Green Gables series or the Betsy-Tacy series (two of my very favorites) and loved them, this book is in the same vein.

Affectionately yours,
Eva