Scones and Sensibility

By Lindsay Eland

Seek tirelessly and you shall not find a contemporary heroine of middle-grade literature as refined and romantic as Miss Polly Madassa. Still swooning over the romantic conclusions of Pride & Prejudice and Anne of Green Gables, twelve-year-old Polly decides her purpose in life: helping along lonely hearts in search of love. Polly's only task this summer is to make deliveries for her parents' bakery, leaving ample time for this young cupid to find hearts to mend—beginning with the kite-store owner, Mr. Nightquist, who will pair perfectly with Miss Wiskerton (the unfairly labeled town curmudgeon). Polly's best friend Fran Fisk is in desperate need of a mother ever since hers ran off with a man she met on the Internet; Polly must find a match for Mr. Fisk. And while she's at it, it wouldn't hurt to find Clementine, Polly's teenaged sister, a beau worthy of her (so she can shed that brute, Clint). Polly's plans are in full swing, so she definitely cannot be bothered by the advances of classmate Brad Barker. But maybe Polly should have turned her attention to Miss Austen's Emma next, because she quickly learns the pitfalls of playing matchmaker. How will Polly patch up her own relationships, while ensuring that destined love can take its course?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lerner Publishing
• Release date: Aug 1, 2009
• ISBN: 9781606844830

Lindsay Eland

Lindsay Eland is the middle of three girls. She often had to wait for the bathroom, share a room and a bed with her sister, and sometimes felt forgotten. (Even so, she has always adored both of her sisters.) She has published one previous novel, Scones and Sensibility. Lindsay lives in Colorado with her husband and four children. You can visit Lindsay online at www.lindsayeland.com and follow her on twitter @lindsayeland.

Reviews for Scones and Sensibility

[cheryl_in_cc_nv · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Children age 12 are going through a phase of development in which they're working hard to understand others' perspectives. If Polly were younger, or a teen, her self-absorption would have been forgivable, but as written she was just unbelievable. Even more unbelievable were all the other characters except for her sister and friend, who tried to teach the little brat a lesson.

Now, I've not yet read Austen, and wasn't terribly taken with Anne Shirley - perhaps if I were a fan, this book would have meant something different to me. As is, I'm thinking I may never bother with Austen after all....

[rubyslippersreads · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was cute, and as someone else said, more Emma than Pride & Prejudice.

[dandelion_cottage · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was cute, and as someone else said, more Emma than Pride & Prejudice.

[cbl_tn · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Inspired by the books she loves so much and encouraged by her success with canine matchmaking, 12-year-old Polly Madassa vows to spend her summer finding matches for the special people in her life. She's as effective as the boy scout who drags the elderly woman across the street only to learn that she didn't want to cross the street in the first place.This was an interesting idea that didn't live up to its promise. Polly uses Pride and Prejudice as the pattern for her speech and behavior. It was cute for a while, but the charm wore off well before I reached the end of the book's 300 pages. The device would have worked better in a shorter book. I doubt that many of the tweens in the book's target audience will have read Pride and Prejudice. Teen readers are more likely to have read that book, but they probably wouldn't want to read a book with a 12-year-old heroine.

[jasminemarie · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I chose to read this book because of the beautiful artwork on the cover. The story sounded intriguing from the recipe on the back and I was sold. Unfortunately, the story itself wasn't as great as I was expecting.The main character, Polly is a very bookish young lady of 12 years. She loves Jane Austen (Pride and Prejudice in particular) and Anne of Green Gables. She loves all the romance of the books - the language, the relationships, everything. So much so that she models her own life after her favorite characters.She speaks the way Elizabeth Bennett would speak in Pride and Prejudice. This is cute for the first half of the book or so, but it gets pretty aggravating towards the end. For me, it was hard to believe that a 12-year old would maintain speaking so grandiosely throughout the WHOLE book. It reminded me of the old TV Show, Dawson's Creek, because the characters on the show did not speak like normal teenagers would. They spoke fast and furious and the vocabulary they used was definitely above average for a teen. The main character in this book does the same thing and I'm surprised that her family and friends put up with it for so long. I think this is an issue for this book because it would be hard for a pre-teen/tween to read and understand. The language of Jane Austen is not easy to read even for adults. I had to re-read a lot of passages myself just to understand what Polly was really saying.Polly decides to play match-maker on her summer break to the fellow people in her seaside town. Her ideas of romance, however, seem to muddle her ability to see that she is just meddling in everyone's business.What I did enjoy about this book was the fact that Polly's family owned a bakery and the author's descriptions of all the yummy pastries that Polly would deliver sounded very delicious. Even though Polly is overly meddlesome and the language gets old after awhile, you do believe in her and root for her (at least for most of the story) because she really does have good intentions even if she going about it in all the wrong ways.Overall:It was an okay book. It was quick to read and I think the pre-teens/tweens might enjoy it if they are familiar with Jane Austen and Anne of Green Gables. Otherwise, I'd pass on it.

[mjmbecky · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I really wanted to like this book, with its cute premise of a young girl infatuated with all things Jane Austen, the pastry shop, and multiple courtships, but I just didn't. While it might be because the 12 year old character Polly grated on my nerves with her endless talking as if she somehow was a Romantic period character, I simply couldn't shake my annoyance over her behavior. Yes, Polly was cute, the way a 12-year old is supposed to be cute, but I didn't really believe her either. I couldn't see a girl of her age getting Jane Austen the way she claimed, and if she did, I couldn't help but feel that this little girl needed more experiences to add to her fantasies.On the cuteness factor, this story is definitely that...cute. I really would like to hand the book over to a younger reader to see how they respond. Although not realistic in a lot of ways, I suppose that really is what reading is about, a fantasy story that asks "what if" for us. So, maybe Polly is this Austen fan at 12, and maybe she does speak in an antiquated British speech...nonstop. I, however, think that for the story and the maturity of the characters, that it seemed too juvenile. Cute story, but a bit too formulaic for me. Sorry.

[bell7_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

If Anne Shirley and Emma Woodhouse combined decided that Diana Barry's Aunt Jo needed to get married, the result might be something like Polly Madassa in Scones and Sensibility. Twelve-year-old Polly, lover of Anne of Green Gables and Pride and Prejudice determines to right romantic wrongs for her older sister Clementine, whose boyfriend is so not right for her; her bosom friend's father; and her neighbor, Miss Whitaker. To Polly's dismay, the course to true love - or at least, the ones she imagines for everyone - does not run smoothly, as her family and friends do not have love lives like that of her favorite heroines.Polly is a precocious character in reading, but not so much in social skills. She's twelve, but she's already read (and loves) Pride and Prejudice and has started mimicking the vocabulary of her favorite books. She's a little over-dramatic at times and pretty much has blinders on when it comes to reading situations and other people. But she is funny and endearing and - I have to say it - annoying, too. I think it may be because I'm an oldest child, but I really found myself relating to and sympathizing with Clemmy much more than I did Polly, who feels left behind now that her older sister is dating and not spending as much time with her as she used to. A cute read, though, that I would recommend to older elementary kids who enjoyed Anne of Green Gables.

[krau0098 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

To be perfectly honest, I picked up this book because I loved the cover...that and I like Jane Austen. It was a cute, fun, silly, and quick read. I enjoyed it.12 year old Polly Madessa has just finished reading "Pride and Prejudice" and has decided that she has a new goal for the summer...to make people fall in love. In between delivering pastries for her parents' bakery she works to push people together and pull people apart (when she doesn't think they are well suited). In general she makes one heck of a mess out of people's lives with her good intentions. In the end she learns that maybe love in real life is different from a book.The story is delivered from the viewpoint of Polly. Polly delivers the whole story in "Pride and Prejudice" like flowery language. Polly also speaks to everyone one in this descriptive, beautiful, and yet out-dated way. Her parents take it in stride, as does her best friend, and it drives her older sister crazy. I thought the way the book was written was okay. At points Polly's language is beautiful and her descriptions of walks on the beach really made me yearn for summer; at other points Polly is just plain silly.Polly's silliness is part of the charm of the book. I can see where some people might find her annoying, yet, if you approach the story with a sense of whimsy and humor...Polly is just a silly and cute twelve year old girl that is trying to match people's lives to the romantic fantasy she has pictured in her head.Neither the writing style nor the content of this book is ground-breaking or amazing; at times the writing style is a bit immature (remember it is supposed to be a 12 year old writing it). Yet, the book has a certain charm to it and makes for a fun quick, light read. This is definitely a girly book and is cutesy and funny. Not something I would read all the time, but it was a fun bit of fluff to break up more serious reads. This book is suited for a younger female audience; older teens and adults might also enjoy it.If you are looking for something a bit silly, kind of cute, sugary and fun this book meets all those requirements and has a sort of charm to it that makes it a fun read. If you are looking for something of Jane Austen proportions, then this book might be a bit immature for you. Still it is a quick read and is a bit of girly fun, so check it out if that appeals to you.

[stephxsu · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

12-year-old Polly Madassa is more often than not living inside her head, where she can be a romantic heroine like Elizabeth Bennet or Anne Shirley, instead of the daughter of two bakers in a small New Jersey oceanside town. Despite having to spend her summer delivering baked goods, however, Polly decides that she will also exercise her romantic sensibilities and love matches for her best friend’s single father, her neighbors, and her older sister, whose current boyfriend is far from ideal. Things in real life don’t usually work out the way they do in books, though…SCONES AND SENSIBILITY, Lindsay Eland’s debut novel, introduces to us a quirky yet endearing heroine who will probably remind us all too well of ourselves, especially if you are, too, a fan of Anne Shirley and Elizabeth Bronte. Its romantic affectations may make it appeal more to older readers instead of its intended middle-grade audience, but readers of all age will be able to laugh at Polly’s misconceptions and mistakes, and smile as she grows up and discovers the difference between fiction and reality.Polly’s voice and narration—so influenced by what she feels is a more romantic way of talking—is the make-it-or-break-it element of this book. I can certainly recall many moments when I wish my life were like Anne Shirley’s, or if I lived in Anne’s world, where mishaps lead to endearments, and every girl found a horribly romantic and swoon-worthy Gilbert Blythe-esque figure. On the other hand, I also never actually allowed myself to talk in the way Polly does, because I probably would’ve been laughed out of the state. Polly’s overuse of “indeeds,” “trulys,” and other words may get on readers’ nerves, even those who liked Montgomery and Austen’s writing.In a way, Polly exists in her own little world that’s difficult to place in a contemporary setting. She’s a 12-year-old growing up in 21st-century America, but her speech and her social concerns aren’t anything like what I remember thinking about when I was 12. Polly’s romantic imagination makes her sound younger than her age, and yet the language of the book may be slightly more sophisticated than the age of readers who’d perhaps find Polly the most entertaining.SCONES AND SENSIBILITY, then, is most fun in a retrospective sort of way. Readers who will be able to best enjoy Polly’s adventures will be the ones who can still remember the magic that Green Gables and Regency England held for them, but are old enough to have some distance from their childhood infatuations. It’s a challenging book to market as a result, but if mothers buy this book for their daughters, they’ll surely be able to enjoy it themselves as well.

[ylin20621 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Scones and Sensibility when first revealed is a charming book with an equally charming main character. The novelty soon dies in the middle of the book where I suggest that the reader set the book down for a few hours. Polly Madassa is someone who believes in true love but her idea of finding love comes from a novel. This is where things go downhill. Love cannot be dictated by an outside source just as Polly finds out at the end of the book when every blind date she’s prepared turns out disastrous. From kites running amok, to getting your best friend’s dad’s date handcuffed, to making your sister hate your guts, Polly risks it all to find the “perfect” match for her love ones—even at the cost of their own love interest. Her heart’s in the right place but she sometimes takes things just too far as Polly’s bosom friend lets her know. Polly’s interference at love starts out charming even adorable but takes on an annoying tone later on. That was where the book lost some of its novelty. I thought the little slip ups with Polly’s speech from Jane Austen to modern day 12 year old gave the reader insight how Polly is just a regular girl. And Polly’s own little love trouble makes the book more squealish. I enjoy the terms of affection that she used, I mean “boson friend” how cute is that? (My friend uses the term butt buddy (which makes me think of bubble buddy from Spongebob Squarepants) so I like to squish the two terms together to make bosom buddy.) The antics of Polly were sweet but grew frustrating when Polly would not listen to sound advice. The ending, of course, was a bit to be expected with Polly finally deciding that love cannot be messed with but ending with at least one good match that Polly had made. It was a happy ending for all as everyone found some kindling of love even if Polly did not help set up. Overall: Cute as a Danish. But sometimes too many Danishes can have its faults.