A GIRL FOR ALL TIME: Clementine's Winter

Ah, finally, I can say some good things about A Girl for All Time book. The author has definitely shown dramatic improvement. I didn't notice much (if any) tense switching. Her sentence spacing is still a problem. Two lines of dialogue from two different characters should be separated. It's confusing if they're not. But the story is not completely outlandish. It's something I could see Molly doing in the AG books. There aren't any big dramatic horrors or anything.

Clementine is the first AGfAT character who is actually very likeable in her book. She's got some snotty moments and she fights with her brothers, but that just makes her more real. Giesele, the Jewish German refugee, is easily my fave secondary character in any of the books, too. She's fun and I wish there was a doll of her.

My main issue remains that the author is a screenwriter. She doesn't spend enough time on the elements of a story that make up a novel. She hints at things or addresses them shallowly instead of digging into her characters' brains and motivations and such.

I want to know, does Clinton like Clementine or Giesele? It's not clear.

What happened to Frieda after the story?

Did Mrs. Pike die? It kinda sounds that way, but then be clear!

So once again, it leaves a lot to be desired, but definite progress has been made and I hold out hopes for Lydia's book. We learned some of the things she put in the trunk in this book, which was cool. And we learned a little about Constance, Clementine's aunt, who received the trunk from Amelia. Not sure if Amelia never had kids or if she just had sons, but definitely no daughters.

Character-wise, we've got...

Matilda: Tudor, the origin of the trunk

Lydia: Georgian

Amelia: Victorian

Clementine: WWII

Samantha: 1960s

I'm pretty sure they mentioned Elizabethan, Edwardian and Restoration girls. Constance should be the Edwardian, coming after Victorian.