My One Hundred Adventures

Twelve-year-old Jane prays for 100 adventures at the start of the summer, never imagining what would happen. Solo-ride in a hot air balloon, new friends, and a possible father all interact to help shape this blossoming young woman.

Fun, whimsical, inspiring read. Great for all ages. ( )

Adventure stories are always hard to write, because everyone likes different kinds of adventures. " My One Hundred Adventures" as the title of a book can attract many people with different tastes.

Jane is a young teenager with two younger bothers and a younger sister, living on the beach in Massachusetts. All Jane wants this summer is to have fun.

During church one day she doesn't know what to pray for, so she prays to have one hundred different adventures this summer. Throughout her summer Jane is faced with many challenges and adventures. She meets many new and interesting people. She meets power wielding pastors, fruit hat wearing old women, clothes hanger men, and many other strange people.

"My One Hundred Adventures" by Polly Horvath shows readers that anything can be an adventure in your own eyes.

This book was a good book but it had some things that I really didn't like. Everyone likes different kinds of adventures, but I didn't like some of the adventures that Jane took in this book. A few of the adventures in the book involved physic readings and people who think they had the power to heal people. The healing wasn't supposed to be fantasy. I didn't like this part of the book. I don't enjoy those things so this part of the book was boring for me.

Until the last few chapters, the book was quite hard to follow. There wasn't a visible plot to the story. I found myself confused until the end, when things from the beginning began to clear up. I don't like being confused for half of a book.

One thing that I really liked was the writing in the book. Polly Horvath is a very good writer. She is descriptive but not too descriptive. It felt like I was right next to Jane. I could feel and smell the cool ocean breeze in the evening, or feel the soft grainy sand in between my toes. This writing did make the book a little more interesting for me. It was some of the most well written and descriptive writing I have ever read.

Some of the adventures Jane goes on would be really fun. At points in the book I wanted to be Jane and do some of the cool things she did. Other adventures I thought were boring. But Jane thought all of her adventures, big or small were adventures none the less.

"My One Hundred Adventures" was a good book. It had some things that I didn't like, but it also had some things that I did like. The book was baked well, but some of it got stuck left in the pan. ( )

My One Hundred Adventures is a great book for older children to read. This book is about Jane Fielding who lives with her parents on the coast of Massachusetts. Jane is tired of living the same every day and every summer she wants adventures, so she wishes for 100 of them and gets 14 of which gives her insight into understanding herself. Jane goes on these adventures and tries to find herself in all of it. This is a great book for young adults to read that helps them to understand that they can always find themselves.

An extension idea would be to journal about adventures that they would like to take or to have a class discussion about the adventures.

Recommended Ages: Gr.

Plot Summary: Main character prays for 100 adventures, and she definitely gets some of them. Many involve Nelly, the preacher.

Setting:

Characters:
Nelly - preacher, a little crazy, thinks she can move energy and heal people, goes to psychic, chases after portal, not a responsible adult
- stuck at home with 4 (or 5?) kids and a drunk, violent husband until she convinces main character to babysit and she gets a job as a waitress
Ned - mom's boyfriend
Clothes hanger man - mom's boyfriend
Ginny - main character's best friend, wants to be a dress designer

Recurring Themes:

Controversial Issues:

Personal Thoughts:

Genre: realistic/historical fiction

Pacing: slow, even though there are lots of "adventures", very poetic and at times slightly and briefly philosophical

Characters:

Frame: Important - they spend a lot of time on the beach and the setting sets the tone for the book as well, makes ending even more surprising since they move

Storyline:

Funny stories of a young girl as she tries to understand her Mother's life ( )