Friday Linkups: Mandy

It's Friday linkup time!  I'm linking up with the Book Blogger Hop hosted by Coffee Addicted Writer, Book Beginnings of Fridays hosted by Rose City Reader, and the Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice

This Week's Book Blogger Hop Question:
When you start reading a novel, do you prefer to be plunged right into the action or do you prefer a slower more descriptive introduction to the plot and characters?

My Answer:
It depends on the book itself I think.  If the plot is all action than I like leaping right in but if the book is more character driven or relies more on the atmosphere than a slower descriptive introduction works.  The main thing for me is regardless of the speed of the start I'm immediately interested in the story!

This week's book is one I'm really excited about and one I wish I had discovered when I was a kid as it would have been a book I think I would have loved.  I discovered it on Goodreads when I first joined up and was looking through the recommendations and it's one of the reasons I really wanted to up my Middle Grade fiction reading this year.  Mandy by Julie Edwards (better known by her maiden name Andrews) is a story about an orphan with her own private refuge and a book I'm absolutely loving!

The Beginning:
On the outskirts of a pretty country village called St. Martin's Green, there stands a large, white house called St. Martin's Orphanage.

My Thoughts:
In the blurb it mentions that the Matron is kind to her but I like that it opens with pleasant imagery.  So often orphanages in this kind of fiction are gloomy and miserable but this sounds pretty.

The 56: 
Sue spoke in a soft voice, "Mandy, shall we go to the old quarry tomorrow and play?  It's Sunday and it would be fun."

My Thoughts: 
The quarry does sound like a fun place to play though it does make me wonder just how much supervision these kids have as it doesn't sound very safe!

So what do you think?  Keep reading?