The Little White Horse

Texts: The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Chronicles of Narnia of C.S. Lewis
The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle

Statement: I really liked this book, and how much Maria changed from the slightly vein girl at the beginning to the noble, courageous proud girl at the end who did what was right no matter what. I thought one of the main lessons in this book was patience, both for Maria and the reader. It was frustrating to me that I still did not know the plot or the scheme after reading more than a third of the book. By the time I got to page 91 or 238, it was still in the "wow this new place is amazing and everything is working out perfect for Maria, and the whole world revolves around Maria." There was no challenge for her by that time. I felt I had to learn patience through her because as a reader, the author was not letting me know very much more information than the character, which I feel is kind of rare in literature.

Question: This story is very simple to me, and very fantastical. I really lost the age progression of this book because I am pretty sure Maria got married at age fourteen or something, and to her cousin. In any case, I still really enjoyed it. Do you think that this is a fantastical story that still captures the essence of a child? Although it is a bit magical, which many books are and do very well, will this particular book grab hold of readers and allow them to relate to the character/characters?