Mill on the Floss

Stephanie writes:
The next part of Mill on the Floss continues with Tom at Mr. Stelling’s school.  Tom becomes very excited when his sister, Maggie comes to visit him.  Soon after Maggie leaves, Tom returns to Dorlcote Mill for the Christmas holidays.  Tom’s father gets into a feud over the river with one of their neighbors called the Wakems.  Wakem is a lawyer and a very rich man.  When Tom returns to school, he meets Phillip Wakem, an intelligent boy who is deformed.  Tom and Phillip are opposites but they become friends quickly.  Maggie arrives at the school again and she loves talking with Phillip, who is a very good friend.  Tom and Phillip’s friendship ends, however, because of the ongoing fight with their fathers.  Tom’s father loses the lawsuit against Wakem and the family goes bankrupt.  Wakem buys Dorlcote Mill.  Their father has fallen ill so Tom, the new head of the family, must support everyone by working.  This is a very lonely time for Maggie and she is only comforted by her secret visits to Phillip.  Both Phillip and Maggie declare they love each other on one such visit.  Several years later, Tom has finally dug the family out of bankruptcy and purchases Dorlcote Mill for his company.  Maggie moves in with her cousin, Lucy, and she falls in love with Lucy’s fiancé, Stephen.  Maggie tries to resist this temptation but fails to do so.  Also, she still loves Phillip.  Phillip visits Lucy’s house occasionally.  One day, Stephen and Maggie go rowing together.  Stephen declares that he wants to marry Maggie.  They flag down the nearest ship and head to a port together.  On the way, Maggie decides that she loves Phillip more so she takes a carriage back to the mill.  At the mill, she must decide who she loves more.
            This novel mainly focuses on the childhood relationship between Tom and Maggie which a very important value to the author.  The novel is good for adults because it explains how they should treat their siblings during childhood and later years.  Although this novel lacks an interesting beginning, there are some humorous situations that keep you motivated until it becomes exciting.  My favorite part of the book was the middle to the end because the connection between Maggie and Phillip is very lovable.  Overall, I would give this book a 6/10 because I find that it is boring in some spots but otherwise it is a very good novel.