Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

 

Finally – late as it is into 2013 – A Good Read !! !!  ---

endearing - loveable - suspended my disbelief - gave us AARPers a wake-up call.

OK, so why did Alan Bradley take the time to write this book?  And did he see it as a series from the beginning.? – age 11 to 19, just like Harry Potter, maybe even a prequel at 9, and a postquel at 26.

“If only I had my life to live over again, how would I change it.?  -–  what would I do differently.?  What if I had  advantages – special powers.?”

I.E., it’s who he wanted to have been.  And why not.  Reverie.

We readers love her so much that we ignore her excessive use of adjectives and adverbs, “It’s OK, because it’s an eleven year-old’s writing.”  Ditto the fact that she’s got an amazingly well-educated knowledge about Chemistry, Arts, History, Psychology, and Philosophy.  Not from daddie did she obtain this knowledge, nor mommie; not from the town library, nor from her sisters; not even from her faithful family retainer.  She got it all due to her handicap: not a mentor.

When I was 10-11-12 years old, 5^th-6^th-7^th grades, I had mentors galore.  I turned 10 on my family’s migration west from Michigan to California: new schools, new friends, and new directions.  I mowed my math teacher’s lawn in exchange for geometry lessons; had a memorable boy scout leader, learned swimming at the YMCA; read Thomas Wolfe for book reports, and was the leader of my church’s youth group.  In those three years I went from being the tough-guy stranger from Detroit; through being a prodigy and teacher’s pet; to being a sometimes leader, sometimes outlier.  But I had scads of mentors, pushers, and draggers.  Flavia seems to do it all on her own.

I recently read an article in Jan 2013 of The National Geographic titled “Restless Genes” written by David Dobbs.  This was a fascinating magazine article. Researchers have identified a variant of the "DRD4" gene called the DRD4-7R, which is found in 20% of people.

"Dozens of studies have found that the gene

  makes people more likely to take risks and

  generally embrace movement, change, and adventure."

This is probably why I have led my life the way I have {many wives; lengthy stays abroad}, and possibly why my parents were driven to move west after the war; also possibly why my daughter does the same sorts of things. 

Maybe Flavia’s got this -7R gene variant.