I would either have loved or despised this when I was a child - and now I have mixed feelings about it. ?áFor example, I can't stand how forgiving and patient Allegra is about her sisters. ?áI'd say it was implausible, but I guess big sister Alice has been indulged her whole life, and Allegra is used to being treated almost like a doormat. ?áThe family is interesting - not exactly hippies or New Agey, but definitely independent thinkers. ?á

The premise promises we can read it as a light-hearted adventure, just watching these three girls live off the land and cope with each other sans parents, neighbors, tv. ?áBut there's a lot to talk about, too. ?áI think it would be fun to read this with a classroom. ?áFourth or fifth grade I think.

I would prefer the edition with Hawke's illustrations, though, I think - Hewitt's just didn't work for the story imo. ( )

A light-hearted, well-written novel of three sisters who live for a week alone on an island off the coast of Maine. Other people live on the island, but the girls want to avoid them so their parents don't learn that they are alone. They live off the land and sea on mussels, periwinkles, berries, and plants. I identified with the middle sister, Allegra, the worrywort, who takes everything on her shoulders, trying to make everyone happy. The consequence of this is that she is often unhappy. She needs to learn to relax more and let others be in charge of their own happiness (good advice to myself!). I liked how Lindbergh gave the sisters honest, sometimes caustic voices, which is realistic between siblings. But in the end, they always cared for one another. ( )

The edition I read of this classic from the 80s was an Avon Camelot paperback with a truly awful cover. I was very pleased to see there's an edition in print now with Kevin Hawkes' lovely and timeless art.

11 year old Allegra is enjoying her family's annual vacation in their rather ancient summer house in Maine to the full, even if she does have to deal with moony older sister Alice and somewhat crazy younger sister Minnow. Then there's an emergency; an elderly relative has died and their parents must go back and arrange for the funeral. Allegra is horrified when she realizes they must give up several weeks vacation at their beloved Maine coast and stay with stuffy Aunt Ruth. But then she has an idea. At first, staying by themselves seems wonderful. But there's a lot more to being in charge than Allegra had expected.

Apart from hideous 80s covers, this is a story as fresh and relevant to modern children as when it was first written. Even if you've never vacationed on the Maine coast or had a summer house, however ramshackle, every child can sympathize with wanting to be on their own as well as the frustration of having to fall in with unpleasant plans. The girls' struggles to find enough to eat and deal with various domestic catastrophes, specifically Allegra's exasperated attempts to keep her irresponsible sisters fed and (mostly) clothed, are interspersed with moments of pure magic and delight.

Verdict: I was so happy to see this was still available - and in a lovely Kevin Hawkes edition. A perfect summer read for 8 - 12s.

ISBN: 978-1567922394; Published July 2010 by David R. Godine; Received through Bookmooch; Purchased for the library