REVIEW: Sandra Takes Command
Jun. 27th, 2018 07:16 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
feather_ghyllSandra Takes Command: Constance M. White Hutchinsons 1960
Always dramatic, Sandra is devastated at the news that Garling Towers’ Dramatic Society is to be discontinued for a term so that the seniors can recover lost time for their exams. Then she gets a brainwave: what if she petitions the headmistress, Miss Harrison, for a junior society? After all, with no sixth or fifth formers taking up the main parts, there’ll be more chance for the juniors (Sandra) to show what they can do.
Her wish is granted, but she is put in charge, along with her steadier best friend Lynette. Can inexperienced Sandra put on something within their capabilities? Meanwhile, Lynette, one of the weaker actors and a more sensitive introvert, wonders about the motivations of Moira, the other star performer.
If the plan was for the responsibility to help Sandra mature, it doesn’t really work, though she learns from the experience. She continues to be impetuous and volatile. However, this is offset by a very kind heart, as shown in her involvement with the local rep theatre, run by the Chalmers, and with two Pekinese puppies. I found the drama-related aspects of the story more interesting than the puppies' rivalry and misadventures.
Always dramatic, Sandra is devastated at the news that Garling Towers’ Dramatic Society is to be discontinued for a term so that the seniors can recover lost time for their exams. Then she gets a brainwave: what if she petitions the headmistress, Miss Harrison, for a junior society? After all, with no sixth or fifth formers taking up the main parts, there’ll be more chance for the juniors (Sandra) to show what they can do.
Her wish is granted, but she is put in charge, along with her steadier best friend Lynette. Can inexperienced Sandra put on something within their capabilities? Meanwhile, Lynette, one of the weaker actors and a more sensitive introvert, wonders about the motivations of Moira, the other star performer.
If the plan was for the responsibility to help Sandra mature, it doesn’t really work, though she learns from the experience. She continues to be impetuous and volatile. However, this is offset by a very kind heart, as shown in her involvement with the local rep theatre, run by the Chalmers, and with two Pekinese puppies. I found the drama-related aspects of the story more interesting than the puppies' rivalry and misadventures.
