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Title: Handle with caution
Review: At first I thought this would be a good girl's book for Story Time, but I'm sorry to say that it's not so good. None of the mature female characters are good role models: Miss Honey is wimpy, The Trunchbull is cruel, The Mother is indifferent (the Father and Brother, bullies); what's here for a girl to look forward to in adulthood? Nothing good, I daresay.Dahl's rather bizarre idea of girl empowerment encompasses petty revenge and telekinesis; hardly what ordinary girls in the real world can depend on for life skills.One might say, "Lighten up, it's just a book for fun." But I suspect that kids or young teens who identify with this book have experienced what Matilda has, and need to find more uplifting literature.
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