The Person From Porlock

Becoming Bindy Mackenzie is the first book that made me cry (that I can remember, anyway- perhaps The Cat in the Hat was a real tearjerker when I was young). This was probably for a variety of reasons-most importantly, that it was very early in the morning when I read it. It's not a good book to cry to-it's a funny book with small smears of sadness, about a socially awkward girl who gets put in a class she didn't want to be in.

It starts off incredibly slowly, and it's fairly boring at that point-as you would expect for a book about a girl with no friends. Bindy makes mountains out of molehills (she hates just about everyone in her FAD group-mostly for being loud), and molehills out of mountains (she refuses to go to the doctor for some ongoing illness, as she doesn't believe glandular fever exists). At this point, the book is a strange look into some poor girl's head.

However, it picks up the pace as we learn of the cause of Bindy's mysterious illness, and the details of her family life. We learn about all of the students in the FAD group with Bindy, and Bindy herself grows into someone who could have friends-as opposed to her original, brisk self.

The greatest thing about Becoming Bindy Mackenzie to me was its ability to switch from sad to funny. At one minute I was laughing at Bindy's messed up worldview, and then crying at the way others treated her (like I said, I was very tired).

Rating: four and a half stars (mostly taken for the incredibly lengthy first half)

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