Review: Charlotte's Web (novel)

For a while I wasn't sure if I'd be able to post this review today. Luckily I managed it! This was the first book that ever made me cry. So what better book to review during NaNoWriMo, when I definitely feel like crying?

Charlotte's Web is a 1952 children's novel by E. B. White. It's his best-known, most popular novel, and it's been adapted into two films and a stage musical. (Goodness knows how anyone adapted a book about talking animals onto a stage!)

Almost everyone knows the plot even if they haven't read the book. A pig named Wilbur befriends a spider named Charlotte, who writes words in her web to save his life. (Can you tell how much fun I have thinking up the shortest plot summaries imaginable? 😄) If you haven't read it the plot frankly sounds silly and childish. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Every time I read it I find something new to laugh at or cry over. Every. Single. Time. Wilbur's attempt at talking logic with a sheep, the morbidly amusing scene when he discovers Charlotte's diet, and the family's struggles to get him into the crate always make me grin. And then there are the sad parts. A certain incident is the worst one, but the bittersweet final scene and Fern losing interest in visiting Wilbur also make me tear up 😢

Speaking of that scene... Whyyyyyyyyyyyy? 😭😭 As a small child I sobbed for hours after Charlotte died. It still makes me cry like a baby, though not for quite as long 😭

Charlotte's Web is one of the rare children's books that can be enjoyed by adults as much as by children. And reading it as an adult doesn't make it any less heart-breaking 😢

Is it available online?: No, not as far as I know.

Rating: 10/10.