Jim. By Ism'ay Thorn. (Wells Gardner, Darton, and Co.)—Jim is
very good as far as incident and dialogue go, and the hero himself is a very fine character and most natural. The general current of school-life is well rendered and sustained with consider- able vigour, and more natural, we think, than in previous school- stories by Ismay Thorn. At times it is slightly unreal, and the ainlogue scarcely boylike ; indeed, one could hardly expect anything else. It is not usual at the age which Jim's contemporaries are intended to be, to have such a system of monitorship as described, nor would it answer for a moment. Nevertheless, Jim. is extremely readable, amusing, full of good situations, and with plenty of good teaching. We hope it may not seem ungracious to say that girls appreciate " Ismay Thorn's" stories of school-life more than boys ; and if the reason is that her boys approach the ideal more than they would acknowledge themselves, they can but be thankful to her.
Previous page
