THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY #2: THE HAUNTED HALL Chapter 13 “Larkland Remembered”

Plot synopsis: The Partridges play at Larkland again and are fabulous. Duke and Indian become friends again and attend the concert. But Duke rides off at midnight. Turnbull is back at the sanitarium and has decided to take up the guitar, making music rather than fires. As the Partridges ride home, Laurie sees a cute guy at a gas station that reminds her of Duke. The family rides home, content that the trip was worthwhile in spite of the hardships.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Character Development: Laurie keeps a diary (in fact, this adventure was “Something for all the diaries in the universe. And then some.”)xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Contemporary Social Issues: Soda Issues (How far we have come, but at the time, Shirley could buy a soda with just one coin. What kind of coin we are not told.) xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Hip Slang: “Party pooper” and “Yessiree”. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Contemporary Pop Culture References: Once again, the family sings “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head”, bringing the novel full circle. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Favorite Passage: Again, not just a sentence, but a paragraph that praises the musical excellence of the Partridges. “That night under the stars before the same vast assemblage, the Partridge Family went on again, doing their thing and making their wonderful sound. If anything, it was better than the night before. The country air vibrated with happiness. The Partridge Family created a musical masterpiece of timing and rhythm. The voices, the guitars, the drums, and the tambourines were all inspired. The Festival responded with another avalanche of acclaim.” xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Conclusion: And so we end this minor classic of the Family Rock Band Novelization Genre. And I’m ticked. The cover said “rock’s coolest supergroup invades a mansion filled with ghosts” and yet there was not a ghost to be found: just stupid taped recordings of spooky sounds in one room of the mansion. Biggest supernatural tease since the first season of Scooby Doo. Still, a salute to author, Michael Avallone. (If you enjoy Mr. Avallone’s work, you may wish to seek out his novelizations of “Hawaii 5-0” and “The Man from Uncle” that may be found at Amazon.com.)