{"id":5742,"date":"2018-02-10T08:00:44","date_gmt":"2018-02-10T13:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/?p=5742"},"modified":"2025-03-06T09:00:35","modified_gmt":"2025-03-06T14:00:35","slug":"day-eleven-the-blue-castle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/?p=5742","title":{"rendered":"Day 10: The Blue Castle"},"content":{"rendered":"

You know how sometimes you come across a book that just warms the cockles of your heart and makes you wish you could crawl inside it and live there?\u00a0<\/span>Meet \u201cThe Blue Castle\u201d by L.M. Montgomery.<\/span><\/p>\n

I was introduced to Montgomery a bit late in life, which perhaps makes my delight in her writing just that much greater, since I can appreciate its skill more now than as a kid. And of all my favorites of hers, I believe \u201cThe Blue Castle\u201d just might top the list.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s the story of a girl named Valency, who did not deserve the name. (Seriously, how are you supposed to pronounce it? It has caused me much grief.) Valency was protected and coddled and sickly and miserable, under the care of her (possibly) well-meaning relatives. She grew to spinsterhood without much happiness, which I suppose is to be expected for someone bearing a name such as that!<\/span><\/p>\n

One day she was given a terrible diagnosis by a doctor, who told her she didn\u2019t have much time to live. Well, at that news, something snapped in her, and she began to do the most <\/span>shocking<\/span><\/i> things, such as refuse to answer to her nickname (which she hated even more than Valency), to say exactly what she thought to her ill-bred relatives, and to make friends with the outcast girl nobody else would care for. <\/span><\/p>\n

Where all her daring takes her I won\u2019t tell you, but it is a refreshing and simply delightful read- the kind that makes you turn the last page and sigh with pleasure. Give it a shot on your next vacation, and see if Valency doesn\u2019t work her way into your heart as well.<\/span><\/p>\n

It’s for sale here<\/a>, or you can also click through that link and find the Kindle version for a dollar.<\/p>\n

A year ago:\u00a0Rosie<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

<\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You know how sometimes you come across a book that just warms the cockles of your heart and makes you wish you could crawl inside it and live there?\u00a0Meet \u201cThe Blue Castle\u201d by L.M. Montgomery. I was introduced to Montgomery a bit late in life, which perhaps makes my delight in her writing just that much greater, since I can appreciate its skill more now than as a kid. And of all my favorites of hers, I believe \u201cThe Blue…<\/p>\n

Read More Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5798,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[83,244],"tags":[313,134],"class_list":["post-5742","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-books","category-reviews","tag-l-m-montgomery","tag-month-of-posting"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/pexels-photo-415071.jpg?fit=1260%2C747","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8A8kG-1uC","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1784,"url":"http:\/\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/?p=1784","url_meta":{"origin":5742,"position":0},"title":"Book List 2016","author":"Rachel","date":"January 10, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"My focus last year was less on reading and more on other new experiences. So I read thirty books instead of a more hefty amount. But here are the titles I did read, along with a blurb about each one. Some of them were lovely, and some of them I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Books"","block_context":{"text":"Books","link":"http:\/\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/?cat=83"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":258,"url":"http:\/\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/?p=258","url_meta":{"origin":5742,"position":1},"title":"Book List 2015","author":"Rachel","date":"January 5, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Follow my blog with Bloglovin<\/a> \u00a0 In 2014 I purposed to read a book a week, and approximately did so, by the skin of my teeth. In 2015 I didn't set any specific goals, but largely because I read aloud so much to my school kids, \u00a0I managed to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Books"","block_context":{"text":"Books","link":"http:\/\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/?cat=83"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4576,"url":"http:\/\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/?p=4576","url_meta":{"origin":5742,"position":2},"title":"8 Tips For the Harried Introvert","author":"Rachel","date":"September 14, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"About every ten days or so, I ponder why on earth I'm so incredibly busy. I'll think I have a free week, but before I know it, every night except one has filled up, and my floors get crummy and my laundry piles up while time marches on and events\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Musings"","block_context":{"text":"Musings","link":"http:\/\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/?cat=91"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/img_1624.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/img_1624.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/img_1624.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/img_1624.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/img_1624.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7762,"url":"http:\/\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/?p=7762","url_meta":{"origin":5742,"position":3},"title":"Bookish Questionnaire","author":"Rachel","date":"April 13, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Some time ago my acquaintance-who-I-pretend-is-my-friend did a book week on her blog, and when I mentioned how much fun that would be, she kindly created this bookish questionnaire for me! I don't have a whole week of book posts for you just now (hopefully coming later), but as a person\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Books"","block_context":{"text":"Books","link":"http:\/\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/?cat=83"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/books-filed-neatly-on-shelves-1907785.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/books-filed-neatly-on-shelves-1907785.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/books-filed-neatly-on-shelves-1907785.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/books-filed-neatly-on-shelves-1907785.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7153,"url":"http:\/\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/?p=7153","url_meta":{"origin":5742,"position":4},"title":"Bon Appetit February: Salmon Tostadas","author":"Rachel","date":"February 7, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"I leafed through my February issue of Bon Appetit, looking for something to make that I wouldn't have to shop for, something I magically had all the ingredients for. And then I stumbled upon the Arctic Char Tostadas, which can also be made with salmon, a fish which was lurking\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Food"","block_context":{"text":"Food","link":"http:\/\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/?cat=88"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/img_7636.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/img_7636.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/img_7636.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/img_7636.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/img_7636.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6362,"url":"http:\/\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/?p=6362","url_meta":{"origin":5742,"position":5},"title":"Packing for a Week In Paris","author":"Rachel","date":"May 1, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"When I lived back in the mountains of Honduras without a vehicle, and took the bus everywhere I went, I learned to pack nothing more than the bare essentials. After all, nobody wants to lug pounds of hairspray and extra towels through crowded bus terminals and for miles down the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Travel"","block_context":{"text":"Travel","link":"http:\/\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/?cat=94"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/fullsizeoutput_1a04.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/fullsizeoutput_1a04.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/fullsizeoutput_1a04.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/fullsizeoutput_1a04.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/fullsizeoutput_1a04.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5742","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5742"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"http:\/\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5742\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8758,"href":"http:\/\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5742\/revisions\/8758"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5798"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5742"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5742"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.stripedpineapple.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5742"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}