Date: May 27, 2025
Author: Betts Arney
Title: Elusive Common Sense
This book was written for children, about children and sometimes I identify as a child.
I appreciated the humor throughout, and the writing was very smartly written, even for adult reading.
This reminds me of how the Disney, and other similar movies, have a lot of hidden humor so the adults will want to watch as well.
This tale told a story of an 11-year-old, dealing with all the issues an 11-year-old could possibly face. Mean kids, including but not limited to one of her previous best friends. A sick kitty that sometimes pottied on her bed and in doing so landed her in hot water with her mum. Then ensued an argument with her mum that left her mumbling mean things under her breath to the tune of she wished her mum would die. Her mum was ill and after this incident announced she was going to have surgery that then met with some complications. So now she was dealing with the guilt that her mum’s possible demise was all her fault. All whilst dodging the unwanted attentions of the annoying boy in class that had a crush on her. To top this off she was often questioning if her actions and words fell into the category of using her common sense. Seemed (to me, anyway) as though she had a better grasp of this ‘elusive’ trait than she gave herself credit for.
As I was reading, I came across mention of something called a ‘party line.’ Something to do with the 1960’s era phone system. I wondered aloud to myself what this could possibly be and was overheard by my mum, whom not only knows what this is but even had one. Apparently, instead of an incoming call being directed to an individual house (due to higher pricing) people would join their neighbors on a ‘party line.’ I was explained, the way to tell who the call was for was distinguished by how many rings came through in a row. Ie. Ring. Ring ring. Ring ring ring. I didn’t fully grasp the concept. However, I do remember, as a child and teenager, having had multiple phones attached to our one landline and that I had figured out how to listen in on conversations of my family, so I can appreciate the idea. This could have been an entertaining pastime for bored youngsters, especially if you shared the line with the town gossip.
If you’re looking for a great bedtime story with your young’un, I suggest this! What a feel-good read for cuddling up to.