The Silver Crown - Robert C. O'Brien

So, my blog has been largely neglected for the past forever. Hence, I've decided to post something new.

I bought The Silver Crown a couple of years ago for two reasons: 1.) Robert C. O'Brien also wrote Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH (which actually has a really fantastic movie adaptation, in my opinion), and 2.) the book was selling for $2.99. And since then, it's become one of those special books that I read time and time again whenever I find myself in a car hurtling through the Hoosier countryside or on a plane skimming through piles of cumulus clouds (hope you enjoyed that sudden bit poetic writing there).

Anyways, The Silver Crown sort of marks my transition from mystery novels to adventure stories. The story follows a girl, Ellen, who receives a silver crown on the day of her tenth birthday. This, she believes, proves that she is a queen. So she leaves her house and goes to a local park to hold court. Suddenly, she hears sirens in the distance. As it turns out, her house has burned to the ground, and no one made it out. Ellen resolves that she must go to her nearest relative, Aunt Sarah. But to get there, she must travel to Lexington, Kentucky. Along the way, she meets a host of villainous characters who try to take her crown, though why they would want to do that, Ellen does not know. She also meets some friends: a clever boy named Otto, the kindly old Mrs. Fitzpatrick, and Mr. Carver, a man living in the woods alone. Without giving away too much of the plot, the story circles around Ellen, the crown, and the evil forces trying to take her crown.

While The Silver Crown is aimed at 8-12 year-olds, I still find the plot pretty engaging. There's no deeper meaning. There aren't layers upon layers of symbols and extended, social metaphors. It's just the age old battle between good and evil. It's a quick read. It's an easy read. I think I picked it up recently because I've been reading a lot of pretty heavy material, and I needed something that wouldn't make me dive deeper. Just an adventure, nothing else. I mean, I guess there's some degree of character development, but it's not like I need extensive thinking to comprehend basic character development.
Anyways, if you want to read something to the tune of what you might've read ten years ago, I highly recommend The Silver Crown. It's a great break from reading really excellent, deep books. It knows what it is (an adventure), and it does a great job immersing you in its own little world.