BOOK REVIEW: Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt ★★★☆☆

Ten-year-old Winnie Foster wishes to escape from her mundane life, daydreaming of kidnapping and going on adventures. One day she stumbles on a secret. Deep in the woods, a magical spring gives eternal life to those who drink from it. The immortal Tuck family safeguard the spring and kidnap Winnie, explaining to her why living forever may seem like a blessing, it is an unfortunate curse.

I never knew that this children book actually existed, let alone a movie with the same title. Not many people have read this in the UK as it’s rarely seen in school literary content. So I skipped the movie and dived into this easy enough 140 pages of a story. The story starts on a hot August summer day, where Mae Tuck visits her two sons Miles and Jesse, Winnie thinks about running away and a stranger is looking for someone. Then the story begins, interlinking those components, in a seamless way.

If you had the chance, would you like to live forever? My immediate answer would be YES. Why not? You never grow old, never have to face death. Imagine all the books you can read. Movies you can watch and re-watch. How about all the places and people you can meet, witness world-changing events? A never-ending beneficial list I say. However, one line stood out the most to me:

“Don't be afraid of death; be afraid of an unlived life. You don't have to live forever, you just have to live.”

And I just sat there, realising the theme of eternal life is portrayed more like a curse than a blessing. Like all good things come to an end, technically life is always moving, changing, but to live forever, always on the move in fear someone might pick up on why you haven’t aged. And what about the people you love? One day they’ll die and it’ll just be you. (That’s if you alone drank from the spring.)

I got this vibe from Babbitt, saying that immortality is bad, but I really don’t think so. The argument that the Tucks keep telling Winnie that drinking from the spring wasn’t their wisest choice, that in some way they regret it. Miles (page 84) was married and had two children, but by the time he discovered the spring’s power, his wife hit her forties and the children looked his age. He never got to live his one shot life with his own little family. Now with nothing but the time he’s overwhelmed with choices.

The only snag I have with this is the lack of character development. I’m not criticising her writing, in fact, this is a decently written book filled with figurative language. I didn’t find anything worth remembering about the characters, just seemed fade in the background; like she’s given names to an artist’s mannequin figure. I guess for a children’s book it can be passed over, but if she had aimed this at an older audience, then I’m sure Babbitt would have expanded on so much more.

I haven’t seen the movie so I’m not going to be comparing it. It’s not a bad book, but then again it’s not the best book in the world. It’s a book that I had to read and can be ticked off my list.

It may be a short story but I really like the theme of everlasting life. Cheating death is tempting but it’s a part of life and I’m happy with Winnie’s choice. I know a lot of readers loathed the ending but I think she chose her path because she had a choice. For once she took control of her life and thought about what she wanted.

Rating 3/5
Publishers: Bloomsbury Publishing
First Publication Date: 1973
Second Publication Date: January 14th, 2003
Genre: Young Adult/ Fantasy