Reviews with content warning for Child abuse - A Princesinha

Okay so Sara Crewe is perfect in every way and I mean that literally. She has no flaws. And like everyone else is ugly, fat, stupid or mean. Some sort of combo of those descriptors depending on the character.

Sara has no character arc or growth, but she sure did help everyone else see how they’re wrong in their behaviour and how they can most certainly improve. She shows this by her sweet, flawless, selfless little ways.

Also, woe is her when she goes from mega-rich to not, and everyone feels so bad about it, but then there is the character Becky who is literally a servant who has been starved and abused her whole life but yeah, let’s not talk about her. Sara is the one who really struggles!!!!!!!!

Maybe I’m totally heartless and that’s why I didn’t like this book? I also didn’t grow up with the movie or anything so I have no added nostalgia.

And to end this review, I have one word left:

BORING!

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clear0109's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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creolelitbelle's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I remember watching a movie adaptation of A Little Princess from the mid-90s, and the situation surrounding Sarah's father is much different in the original book than I saw back then. Sarah's story is a mostly a tragedy, but she always remains a hopeful young girl, which makes the book a joy to experience. She holds her tongue better than I think most clever girls could in her shoes. Her intelligence and good heart shine through even her darkest moments. I wonder how a modern retelling could fare or if one has been created. Reading classics like this show how our current technology would change the course of past protagonists' lives.

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bessadams's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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reader_crystal's review against another edition

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dark hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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tlaynejones's review against another edition

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Strong character development? No
Diverse cast of characters? No

This was my favourite book when I was 8 or 9, I read and reread it so many times. I loved this story so much.
It’s been over 40 years since I’ve even looked at it, and I thought it had mostly faded away from my mind. Yet once I started it this time, it all came back so clearly I almost felt like I had it memorised. I began this read with a sense of trepidation; I remembered enough to know that I would find racism and a deeply colonial pov, but I didn’t remember enough to know any details or to guess how this reading would leave me feeling.
What I found was a book that encapsulates the hypocrisy and neglect of white supremacy and christian ‘benevolence’. Some will say, oh it’s ok, it’s a book of its time, so the racism and classism, and all the other isms in this story, can be excused. But why? The child that I was, that desperately needed a fairy tale about being rescued, deserved to also have books that allowed a more complex world to exist. That didn’t create paradigms that center her potential for rescue based on her whiteness, her class, her politeness, her stoic ness, or her feminine ‘goodness’. A book that didn’t reinforce class amongst white people, and completely devalue and dehumanise all people of colour. Children deserve to have magical fairytales to escape in to, without the burden of white supremacist messaging. There are so many wonderful children’s and middle grade novels available now. For me, this one is best left in memory for what it was then.

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katie0528's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

A classic children's story I never read but wanted to give a go now after listening to excerpts on the Calm app. It's a cute story about positivity and imagination in the face of adversity, but some of the language and portrayals of minorty characters could be considered offensive to a modern reader.

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jstar1's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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