'First he had a slice of apple pie, and then a slice of blueberry, and for dessert he had another slice of apple but with a lump of vanilla ice cream on top,' while she has her usual train lunch, a club sandwich. Happy to be riding the train alone with her brother, Portia lets him have just what he wants for his lunch. The book begins with eleven-year-old Portia Blake and her six-year-old brother Foster convincing their parents that they can make the annual train ride to spend the summer with their cousin Julian all by themselves. I have no doubt that the marvelous Jeanne Birdsall was inspired by Enright, among others, while writing her modern classic, The Penderwicks.

But, what I love most about this book is the way that all of the characters completely enjoy themselves, no matter what they are doing. Enright's book won the Newbery Honor in 1958 and, while there are a few dated aspects to the book, really just the slangy dialogue that the two main characters use with each other and a continual reference to the love women have for curtains, Gone Away Lake is so completely charming and utterly engrossing that it seems timeless. I had heard of Enright and her award winning books before, but Heather's mention of them (and the great new covers by Mary Grand Pré) inspired me to buy them and read them this summer and they now rank among my favorites. Before I begin my review, I need to thank long-time reader of my blog, Heather aka Proud Mama for mentioning Gone Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright in a comment on my article How to Choose Age Appropriate Books for Advanced Readers.

Gone-Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright