Anne Emery (1)Critiques

A very young Pat Marlowe has one major goal --to get married to Tim Davis. With Tim leaving for college, Pat and Tim decide to date others to make sure their relationship is solid. During her senior year, Pat develops an intense interest in drama, an interest that Tim neither appreciates or understands. Pat begins to question her marriage plans.

Second book of the Pat Marlowe series--

Dinny meets and starts dating Steve, a charming freshman at Rosemont College. Feeling special and needed is part of the appeal of this romance for Dinny. But the relationship with Steve becomes time- consuming and at times, overwhelming. And Dinny may feel needed, but Steve seems needy.

Set in the 1950's, this teen novel by Anne Emery focuses on the pros and cons of going steady. The central character Sally Burnaby is the oldest child of a large, active, traditional family. She is thrilled when she becomes pinned to her boyfriend Scotty shortly before graduation. I found Scotty to be an irritating and controlling person. Scotty gives Sally constant advice. He suggests that she hone her tennis and diving skills. He suggests books for her summer reading. These "recommendations" affect Sally's self-esteem; she often feels inadequate and depressed after their dates.When Sally is invited to Scotty's home, he treats her like any other guest, rather than a girlfriend. Despite their relationship flaws, they discuss forgoing college and plan to be married in the autumn. I found the description of Sally's summer job (clerical work at a local university) to be interesting. Sally regards the work (stuffing envelopes and typing registration cards) to be dull and tedious. She often makes errors and is reprimanded by the brusque and efficient office manager Carol Colbert. As the summer progresses, Sally reevaluates her goals and evolves into a stronger person. The themes of this 1950's youth novel are relevant today.

Dinny Gordon travels through her junior year of high school with a few tribulations. She is unjustly fired from her job at Harlech's Variety Store for reporting a shoplifting incident. Curt Beauregard stops speaking to her when she accepts a date with Tom--but she reminds Curt that they aren't going steady and they are both are free to date others. Then she copes with prejudice against her friends, Mike and Debby who are Jewish. Dinny grows deeper into her archaeology interest and counsels a troubled adolescent.

This is my favorite Dinny Gordon novel!

Dinny's life is filled with halcyon days. Her father is a college professor; her mother is a "stay at home" who bakes bread and cookies. Their home is old and stately. Dinny has long-time friends: Blythe, Melinda and Sue.

Dinny has long-range goals: She wants to travel to see Troy, Rome, Athens and the Acropolis. To achieve these goals, she decides to save part of her weekly allowance and to embark on a child care career (neighborhood babysitting).

While her friends spend their Christmas vacation shopping and going to parties, Dinny is babysitting and researching her elaborate archaeology project. Although Dinny is not interested in dating, she befriends the odd, intellectual Clyde Craybil, a new senior student at Rosemont High.

An interesting minor plot is Dinny's grade conflict with Latin teacher Miss Grimm (love that name). I enjoyed this 1950's teen novel even though I read it as an adult. I liked the individualism of the main character and the way she stood out from her friends.

Dinny Gordon, a mature sophomore, values her scholastic average and her long-range goals that include a career in archaeology. She loves history museums and the study of ancient Greece and Rome...interests which separate her from her friends, Melinda, Blythe, and Sue.

Changing relationships dominate this short novel. When Dinny begins to date Curt, her friendships with Melinda and Sue begin to deteriorate. Graduate student Brad Kenyon (a big brother type character) helps Dinny gain perspective on her rocky romance. This teen novel was written and set in the 1960's.

Anne Emery is a great writer, and this is one of her best young adult books. I'm sure it will seem a little dated (okay, a lot dated) to teenagers now, but it is still a fun book to read. Jean Burnaby (featured in many of Miss Emery's books) begins her senior year in high school and is soon caught up in the sorority clique. Disguised as 'service clubs' at her high school (since sororities are forbidden), The Nightingales are the group that notices Jean and soon she finds herself caught up in her social life with them. This causes problems with her family, her friends not in the sorority and most of all, her boyfriend Jeff. How Jean resolves her problem and ambivalence about the sorority makes for a interesting read. Oh, and a few references to the word 'queer' are even amusing, in this PC age. In one, Jean worries that the sorority will think she's 'queer' for missing an important event. Toward the end, when Jean decides to hand in her Nightingales pin, she imagines that her sorority sisters are thinking, "Are you queer?" No, they were not wondering if she had turned lezzie. I got a big laugh of that one.

The main character is probably Anne Emery's least likable leading lady. Grumpy, spoiled, selfish. But she comes around nicely by the end of the book.

Probably my least favorite Anne Emery, and I never have been able to figure out why.

A different kind of Anne Emery. This one takes place in a poverty-stricken mountain community. I have to admit a lot of the book is downright depressing, but the ending is promising enough to satisfy anyone without being totally unbelievable.

This is a very good book, and not the usual Emery. Most of her books took place in small midwestern towns, but the locale of this one is a large city lower class neighborhood, if not outright slum. And where most of Emery's characters are the children of professionals, this one is blue-collar all the way.

My favorite Jane Ellison book. The sweet and innocent romance between Jane and Chuck Ransome is enough to make you want to move to the country and join 4-H.

From vintage scholastic cover:

Sally Burnaby feels awful! Here she is, ready for a fabulous senior year, when everything goes to pieces! Kate, her best friend, goes away to school. Scotty begins to date another girl. Trying to forget, Sally almost ties in with the wrong crowd. Now she must prove she can make adult decisions...and gain another chance with Scotty.