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 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. ( )

Darrell empieza el curso muy contenta hasta que se entera de que debe acompañar a la escuela a una muchacha estadounidense de nombre Zerelda Brass. En el colegio todos quedan fascinados con el aspecto de Zerelda, era muy presumida y se creía Julieta y, Gwendoline Mary como es parecida a ella, intenta hacerse amiga de Zerelda, que, por su edad, debe estar en cuarto.

Por otro lado está Mavis, que canta como nadie pero el único problema era que siempre estaba hablando de sí misma y decía "cuando sea cantante de ópera y actúe en..." todas las chicas estallaron de enfado y decidieron ignorarla. Por otro camino apareció Wilhelmina a quien llaman Bill con su caballo Trueno, que enferma de un cólico. En las clases, Bill no se centraba pensando en Trueno y Zerelda tampoco así que decidieron pasarla a tercero, donde allí se sentirá más relajada. Al final la señorita Peters, la tutora de tercero, ayudó mucho a Trueno e hizo que se pusiera bien. Mavis, ya harta de que ninguna quisiese escuchar su famosa frase, decidió apuntarse al concurso de talentos del pueblo de al lado y a las demás no les dio buena espina. Y luego apareció en una cuneta con una pulmonía. ¡Mavis había perdido la voz! Era el comentario más hablado en el colegio, Mavis no recuperó el poder cantar hasta un año más tarde (después de dos años se recupera completamente), y antes de acabar el trimestre Zerelda se acercó a la enfermería a ver a Mavis y tenían muchísimo en común.

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 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. ( )

o livro e bastante interessante fala sobre nao sei o que porque ainda nao o li mas e bastante emocionante estar a olhar para ele e pensar nas historias que nos vai contar ! ( )

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. ( )