A Song for Summer

Having now read two of Ibbotson s teen romances, I am beginning to see a trend Both have featured angelic young women who coo over babies and frolic in meadows and have no personality whatsoever These young women fall in love with great guys tough, handsome, intelligent, whom they barely know Lovely.

If you ever get a chance to read A Song for Summer, for Godssake run away.I haven t had such a visceral negative reaction to a heroine since Twilight I picture her something like this My name is Ellen I was raised by eccentric, rich, and intelligent Aunts in London They wanted me to go to school for intellectual pursuits, but all I wanted to do was follow Grandpa s housekeeper around I want to be a housekeeper when I grow up and go work at a school with unruly, Godless children who need to learn [...]

Set in Austria and London just before and during World War II, A Song for Summer follows a young woman named Ellen Carr who takes a job as a housekeeper at an unusual private school in the Austrian Alps I knew this book and I would get on when Ellen first arrived at Schloss Hallendorf to find a tortoise on wheels speeding across the lawn.Soon after the well equipped tortoise, Ellen encounters Professor Chomsky who teaches metalwork and swims naked in the lake at all hours, Professor Ritter who t [...]

If you have read any of my previous reviews of books by Eva Ibbotson, you already or less know the plot The protagonist is a young, beautiful girl who is well born but eschews her status as part of her love and appreciation for the little joys in life, including domesticity, nature, and rewards reaped from kindness She is loved by all, including the surly, the old, the young, the birds and the bees Along comes a princely type who falls for her goodness and simplicity as well as her beauty Alas, [...]

Eva Ibbotson s romances are all of the same pattern, Viennese pastry fiction Incredibly stubborn, kindly, eccentric young girl who gets along well with her elders and youth though not necessarily her own peers defies her parents and has an adventure, encountering her perfect match but she is hampered by loyalty attachment to a young man she grew up with The eccentric side characters are mostly loveable, and even the worst either end with finality or reform when seen in their perfect circumstance [...]

This was definitely not for me It s a wishy washy romance with a backdrop of world war 2 Our protagonist Ellen isjust so good She is beautiful, kind and her life s calling is to cook and clean She moves from London to Austria to become a nanny in a school, where she meets the gruff groundsman, Marek I think you can all see where it goes from thereI had so many issues with this book There was no grand passion, or depth of emotion We kept being told the two main characters loved each other, but as [...]

It s been a LONG time since I read a book that made me forgo all other plans and curl up in my bed until the last page was turned I love when I have to do that.What is a Song for Summer It s a romance, pure and simple but a romance that begins in the most tumultuous of times in a place on the brink of war Hitler is already stirring and making life difficult in Germany when Ellen arrives in a picturesque village in Austria The run down boarding school where she s taken a position is the least lik [...]

Originally posted here.Eva Ibbotson is one of my favorite YA authors She writes historical fiction novels with romance in them I ve read all of her YA novels except for A Song for Summer and I ve been saving it up for when I feel like getting cozy with a good book That time came up last week and I finally got to read this.I mentioned this in my review of A Company of Swans last year but I want to say it again there s something about Eva Ibbotson s writing that makes her novels comfort reads even [...]

I guess I m losing hope in Eva Ibbotson Her books are hopelessly YA fiction High end YA fiction, but still lumped in the category And what have I come to expect of YA fiction Absolutely no redeeming value, episodes of teenagers or young adults with no self control or morals that they abandon with a disheartening lack of regret or hesitation, language, flighty heroines and perfect heroes who are really nothing but fluff under the skin That s what I expect Unfortunately, that s what I get.Marek wa [...]

I m going to have to go ahead and call this book flat out silly I picked it up because I had read Ibbotson s A Countess Below Stairs some years ago and vaguely seem to remember having liked it It can t have been this bad else I d have remembered, I m convinced.The heroine is Ellen, the domestic goddess who loves cooking and hugging babies and is beautiful beyond compare The hero is Marek, the dashing gardener and fencing teacher who is also a member of the Resistance and a very famous composer T [...]

Okay, so this book is in two parts The first part is about 80% of the book and it is a very nice story Maybe it didn t blow me away, but I liked it It was satisfying.But then the last 20% of the book was all weirdly dramatic Big spoilers here view spoiler So the first part ends with the couple together and everything getting all wrapped up except they go to visit his parents and his house is on fire So he runs into the house And that s the end of part one.Then it s like three years later and at [...]

Such a lovely story The story begins just before WWII in Austria and continues through the war, but it is very character driven I really love Ellen She s sweet and kind, but stubborn and strong Eva Ibbotson knows how to break your heart with one sentence Simple and beautiful

Now I get to say that I was wrong about Magic Flutes, and then I was wrong about A Company of Swan THIS BOOK is my favourite Eva Ibbotson novel so far I really ended up loving this one, I adored the beautiful Austrian setting of this one I really liked both of our main characters here, Ellen was as lovely as I have come to expect from an Eva Ibbotson novels And Marek actually became my favourite male lead from any of her novels, he completely won me over.Marek is not only a gardener and fencing [...]

I love all novels that attest to music s incomparable power, and A Song for Summer does so brilliantly The story s heroine, young Ellen, relocates from England to Austria, partly to escape the expectations of her suffragette mother and aunts She lands a job as matron at an eccentric arts school, where she s allowed to bask in her favorite activities, namely cooking, observing nature, and lovingly tending to the school s largely dysfunctional student body and staff Ellen s life soon becomes entan [...]

I was underwhelmed by this one, especially after how much I enjoyed A Company of Swans I found Ellen s thing the oft underrated domestic arts far less interesting than Harriet s ballet I found it odd that the romance seemed to be relatively unimportant to the story until the very end, when it became the only part of the story.And what a cop out that was, too The drama and conflict felt so manufactured, which is ridiculous there was a perfectly good way to have realistic drama throughout the book [...]

I love this book Yes it is a little hokey, but I found it incredibly endearing All the characters are so full of life and each so different from the other I love the main character I found her relentless maternal instinct to be warm and comforting I did read this when I was about 16 so I know it doesn t hold up as well when you read it as an adult, but Ibbotson paints with her words the most charming picture with this book I always want to crawl inside of it and live there.

A nice read I liked it but I didn t love it.

I loved Ibbotson s children s books when I was younger, so I decided to take along this one at a local book sale The beginning really appealed to me A teacher like protagonist who grew up in an early 20th century London and comes from a peculiar family background I will not discuss the issue of Ellen being raised by three extraordinairy women resulting in her being anti feminist, but this is one of many elements the author should propably have reconsidered.Ellen s unusual choice of lifestyle and [...]

This is the kind of book I love set in WWII Europe, detailed, lovely prose, and character driven Highly recommend to anyone who likes Jane Austen and WWII novels This is historical, romantic fluff that feels familiar and cozy, and it is a great little beach read Definitely not fine literature, but completely enjoyable.

I liked this book If I could, I would have given it 3 1 2 stars I loved the language, and enjoyed the story, but found my attention wandering in a few parts.

Eva Ibbotson lo ha vuelto a hacer El comienzo del libro es una puesta a punto en el que muestra la situaci n general del escenario en el que se centra la acci n segunda guerra mundial en este caso y de la familia de la protagonista Al principio comenc a leer un poco reluctante ante tal dosis de informaci n y para cuando me di cuenta eran las tres de la ma ana, hab a le do m s de 60 p ginas formato ebook y hab an pasado un mont n de cosas Y solo una semana en el libro Esa es la magia de Ibbotson, [...]

I m in the process of devouring each of Eva Ibbotson s books for young girls and while I enjoy much of the process I leave each book feeling a little flat I thought at first that this book would be an exception to that trend Her heroine s all fit a comfortable mold of being not all that interesting, having one hobby that consumes their time and talents i.e ballet, opera, etc being weak in the personality department, and yet inexplicably loved by all creatures they come across The love interest i [...]

This book was the most morally wonky of Ibbotson s books that I have read so far There are several married couples that cheat on one another toward the end including the heroine the Russian ballerina is just vulgar, and the children in the book are shipped off to an anarchy driven school by disinterested parents Think hippies and free love that is how the environment feels when the innocent main character first arrives at the school It is really unfortunate to watch this twisted morality rub off [...]

Another of Eva Ibbotson s charmingly humorous romances, combining her usual elements of Austria, England, quirky minor characters, brave hero and effervescent heroine Hitler is hovering over the horizon, and an English girl named Ellen adventurously travels to Austria where she takes a job as housemother at a progressive boarding school The teachers are an eccentric bunch, and the children are an undisciplined lot being encouraged to get in touch with far too many primal impulses, but Ellen quic [...]

wordnerdy 2015 05I liked that other Ibbotson sort of YA sort of romance book I read, so thought I d give this one a shot And it s also pretty great It focuses on Ellen, a young woman raised by her suffragette career women mother and aunts, who are mildly disappointed that she s much interested in domestic stuff she is very clever though So she goes off to be the matron of a British boarding school in Austria, which would be totally idyllic except it s 1937 Her love interest also works at the s [...]

I loved this book because it was so delightfully funny and upbeat, especially considering the topics it covers Ellen, who ought to be an aristocrat in 1930s England, would rather be a cook, much to her family s horror Taking a job as the young Matron of students in a small, private, progressive school in rural Austria, she must deal with everything from bazaar teachers who swim in the nude or carry around a love child with no diapers on in order to be natural to wild eyed and broken hearted stu [...]

I was a bit disappointed with this one There was so much potential, but it fell flat on its face You have your typical Ibbotson heroine an utter Mary Sue and your typical Ibbotson hero dashingly handsome and charming, but haunted and mysterious This formula worked well enough in The Secret Countess a strong cast of secondary characters balanced out the cliches nicely A Song For Summer didn t work nearly as well Marek s resistance work, something I think should have been given much detail, was o [...]

Maybe I should ve given it two starsbut it was just such a disappointment after A Company of Swans I m not sure what could compare, but I thought with the same author I might have a shot of another winner Nope Too many ups and downs in the storylineis guy was having a major identity crisis First, he s a gardener, then he s a woodsman, then he s a spy and next the most renowned composer in the world, then a fighter pilothd then the most drawn out ridiculous end to a book I think I ve ever read St [...]

I had a really hard time getting into this one The author is obviously a great journalist She has a ton of knowledge about music, Austria and WWII I felt like she was using all of that knowledge and research as an excuse to write a book of fiction I thought the main character was unapproachable and hard to relate too The story itself seemed weak and confused Is it a love story, an excuse to spout off life philosophies or a commentary of the injustices of war I m sure other people really would en [...]

Okay maybe it headed towards 3 stars by the end but why did it take so long to get interesting It does end up taking shape as a fairly solid love in wartime plot horribly predictable ending included but I found it really hard to connect with the characters, or understand their actions Perhaps if you are a classical music opera lover you might enjoy the setting enough to carry the story through, but not I Sorry I know this is YA fiction, but I first attempted it when it was 15, and gave up a few [...]