It occurred to me that when I originally read Maud Hart Lovelace's novels, I was aware that they were set in the past, but now Betsy and Tacy's high-school years of 1906 to 1910 are literally a century ago. Realizing all the changes in the world just since my own high-school years ended in 1982, and adding those on top of the preceding 80 years, turn-of-the-20th-century Deep Valley seems like another world entirely - and in many ways, it was. But coming back to the stories now, with the perspective of having lived a few more years, it also occurred to me that in many respects, they're both modern and timeless.

The quality of writing doesn't tend to stand out for me as much when I read youth fiction, unless it's poor quality - and Lovelace's books are not of poor quality. I'm better equipped to consider that now than I was when I originally read the Betsy-Tacy books, though, and I did notice the writing more this time - a few minor quirks and peculiarities jumped out at me at times, most arising from the fact that these books were written in the 1940s about the early 1900s. The stories are well-crafted and the characters are vivid. It's enjoyable seeing Betsy gain self-awareness and confidence over the course of her four years at Deep Valley High School, trying to learn from the setbacks and having lots of fun when things are going well. There's depth to these stories that escaped me the first several times I read these books, and I can appreciate that much more coming to them as an adult.

READ MORE: http://www.3rsblog.com/2009/12/book-talk-back-to-deep-valley-high.html ( )