Heaven to Betsy #2

I'd never thought that lack of something could make me think so much about a book. Yet, as if the 

things that do happen don't already make me think so much, the absence of things are even making me 

think in my book, Betsy-Tacy. Betsy Ray lives in Minnesota, in the early 1900s, but if you want the full 

summary of Betsy Ray's life, I suggest back tracking to the previous blog post on this story. However in 

this blog post, i'll get right to it.

Betsy Ray's life consists of boys, her best friend Tacy, her family and her looks. Maybe you can throw 

school into that list also, but that doesn't seem to be high on Besty's list of priorities. Her main concern 

however, is that Tony doesn't like her, or that she has a gap in her teeth. I suppose the reason I love the 

Betsy-Tacy series so much is because it's so nice and well... normal. And it's not like the world was free of

problems then. Disaster hit all over all the time, just like now, over 100 years later. But in the isolated 

world of Betsy Ray and her friends, there are no problems.

Poverty, theft, abuse, child labor, child prostitution, slavery, and many other issues are all very common in books. As I'm reading such a pleasant, problem-free story, it actually surprises me to notice the lack of these subjects. When did authors start writing solely on issues and problems in the world? And directed at those who aren't, why aren't you? Is it that you want to pretend none of these problems exist? It's strange, on one hand I don't want even reading material to be filled with all the awful problems people try to avoid everyday. On the other hand, and don't want any doubt in the world that these problems do exist.

 Truth be told, I can answer this question. I'm glad of this deficiency of problems. Betsy-Tacy is a form of escape for me. Although many people who suffer far worse than me roam the world today, that doesn't mean my life isn't hard sometimes. And when those times come, I can just curl up and read the familiar story, with no worry that hardships are entering the story any time soon.

      Then again, as i'm writing this, i'm persuading myself to change my mind.