Daddy-Long-Legs - The Original Classic Edition (Paperback)

A sweet Story with a twist: Usually I absolutely hate novels that are supposed to be a collection of letters and/or diary entries for this simple reason, they are as transparent as saran wrap. Something along the lines of 'I'm just jotting down a casual letter to inform you that I just had a terrible fight with so-and-so, here's what we said word for word complete with speaker attributes'

That's why I was so pleasantly suprised with this book. The writing is entertaining, intelligent and always realistic. That is EXACTLY how a person in their late teens, early twenties writes (I know, I'm a letter writer in that age group) and it is so refreshing to read an author who knows what she is talking about on the subject.

Judy Abbott is most certainly not a Pollyanna, she teases, gets angry and argues but she has a nice nature and always manages to patch things up. She is an orphan who writes to her mysterious benefactor whom she dubs 'Daddy-Long-Legs'. Because he is her fairy godmother for all purposes, she confides in him even though she knows he will never answer. The ending is marvelous with a great little twist. I think this book is great for girls 8-80 and am sorry I did not read it sooner

The book consists almost entirely of letters written by Judy. Judy is an orphan from the John Grier Home, an orphange she was raised in since she was a baby. Her future seems very bleak until one day she is unexpectedly offered the opportunity for a paid college education to become an author by one of the orphanage's trustees. In return, she has to write monthly letters to the unknown trustee who is known as Mr. John Smith. She calls him 'Daddy-Long-Legs' because she saw his tall shadow as he left the building. Her letters are very entertaining, and often impertinent. That is really all I want to tell of the story, but here are a couple of quotes from the book that I loved:

'It isn't the big troubles in life that require character. Anybody can rise to a crisis and face a crushing tragedy with courage, but to meet the petty hazards of the day with a laugh -- I really think that requires spirit.'

'I think the most necessary quality for any person to have is imagination. It makes people able to put themselves in other people's places. It makes them kind and sympathetic and understanding. It ought to be cultivated in children.'