The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright

The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Goodness me, what a delightful thing this was! I had been aware of The Saturdays for a while and finally managed to pick up a copy of it – and one which, rather deliciously, came with a cover by the legendary Shirley Hughes. I always love this period in British children’s publishing when you have absolute wonderstars of children’s literature honing their craft and popping up in Unexpected Places so this was a good sign. The second sign came a few pages in when I realised that something was happening here and it was a Good Sort Of Something. I can’t quite explain it but you can always feel it. The confidence on the page, perhaps, or the soft, sweet flow of the sentence. The way that the book always knows where it’s going. The contentment in itself. It was all there, The Saturdays is a delight and I must move to New York immediately because of this.

The Saturdays concerns the Melendy family and sees them decide to pool their pocket money together for a series of perfect Saturday adventures. Each individual is allowed a day of their own with an increased budget before the next person has theirs. It’s such a subtle and quiet premise that you might kind of go ‘so dude’s where’s the drama?’ but that’s not how this book works. This is about the world opening up before you and the realisation that there are such people in it (thank you Shakespeare). It’s about discovering the stories on your doorstep, about the wild joy of walking down the street by yourself and choosing your own destiny, and it’s about the sort of family that understands you at every inch.

I mean, ferociously charming does not even begin to capture this.

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