Third Year at Malory Towers

This was part of my favourite 'school' series as a child and teenager. I picked it up and read it again, after lending it to a young friend, and found myself totally caught up in the storylines.

This book continues to feature the likeable Darrell, who rather misses her friend Sally (off school and in quarantine). New girls are the film-mad Zerelda from the US, and horse-made Wilhelmina who is always known as Bill. Caricatures, undoubtedly, but somehow Blyton managed to get inside the schoolgirl mind, and some useful moral lessons are demonstrated without any preaching.

The writing is a bit repetitive and - unsurprisingly - very dated (this book was first published in 1948). But who can fail to be moved by Bill's attempts to save her show more horse from colic, or by Darrell's dedication to lacrosse, leading to a moment of totally unexpected triumph?

Not good literature, of course, but it's stood the test of time...and still, apparently, appeals to pre-teen girls.... as well as adults who read and enjoyed it many decades ago. show less

Darrell's third year at Malory Towers. Like in the second book, we get some new girls in Darrell's form that provide some fresh storylines. In the second book we had Ellen, the scholarship student who overworked herself, and Daphne, the girl from an apparently very rich family. In this one we have the American girl, Zerelda, obsessed with her appearance and who wants to be an actress, Bill, a tomboy whose real name is Wilhemina, is the only girl in a family with many brothers and is obsessed with horses, and Mavis, who has a great voice and wants to be an opera singer.

Like in the previous book, a lot of the character development belongs to these new characters, although of course Darrell is the point of view character and we still have show more the regular characters of the series, girls and teachers.

Perhaps the books are guilty of flanderization (the exaggeration of one trait of a character to the extent that it defines their whole personality), but I appreciate the focus on the girls' characters and the relationship between them, something that is normally not the focus in Enid Blyton's other book series, more oriented towards adventure or mystery.

I find these books simple and formulaic but very entertaining. Comfort reading. show less

Adorei o livro passou lições bonitas. Da coleção inteira este é o meu favorito porque á um mistério para resolver e ainda tem lições importantes. Recomendo este livro.

It wasn't bad per se but it was a little odd. Blyton is awful at writing ponies - not that she'd have needed any income coming from the huge pony book market - and it's a shame seeing as this is really the main plot. I did enjoy Darrell's tribulations with school lacrosse, though.

This third book is very horsey, but marvellous all the same. More new characters, this time Bill, Mavis and Zerelda. Zerelda was even more irksome than when I read this as a child.

All very exciting when Mavis goes missing and of course it all works out in the end!

Well, Bill really awoke something in me, didn't she? My 12 years old self be like, I get that.

When Darrel goes to Malory Towers she has to pick up Zerelda Brass. She american, has dreams of going to the "Movies" and acts like she is twenty. The second new girl is Bill who's a tomboy and loves horses so much she rides to school with her brothers on her beloved horse, Thunder. Darrel practices hard at lacrosse so hard that Molly, the games-captain, choses her to play on the team and Darrel shoots the winning goal. Mavis who has a lovely singing voice but blows her trumpet about it runs away late at night so she can sing at a talent show. The same night Thunder get's colic and Bill and Darrell are in the stable. Their form-mistress Miss Peters who also loves horses helps them and became very good friends with Bill. The vet is away show more at a farm so Miss Peters rides to fetch him. She spots a car knock over a weeping fugire. She goes to help them and it turns out to be Mavis who was too young to sing. Matron tells her she wouldn't be able to sing for two-three years if she'll ever. When she recovers two results come of that night. First was that Bill worked hard for Miss Peters. The other one was that Mavis was never boasting about her voice and the girls liked her much more. show less