Even though Betsy and Tacy are only two years older than they were in Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown, they now seem so much older! The girls still seemed like children in Downtown, but now they look - in the illustrations - and act so grown up! It was a big jump, and I felt I had to get re-acquainted with Betsy.
While the earlier books in this series came across as quaint and charming, this one just seemed old-fashioned. Betsy dressed in sailor suits, she curled her hair nightly and wore it in a pompadour, and her mother came and went in morning dresses and afternoon dresses. Boys wore suits, walked girls to and from parties, and dropped in on Betsy's home to make fudge and sing love songs around the piano. And, the most popular place to be on a Friday night was a church youth group!
Mostly this book was about boys. I appreciated that Tacy actually provided a voice - albeit small - of reason amid Betsy's boy-craziness. Throughout the book, Betsy was primarily concerned about her looks, and there's a lot about girls fawning over boys. Admittedly, it was a nice balance having the boys pay so much attention to the girls, too.
Anyway, the book chronicles Betsy and Tacy's freshman year of high school, during which Betsy experiences the ups and downs of teenage romance.
I did like that in a small but significant plot line, Betsy comes to realize that she should not sacrifice her own interests (writing) for the sake of fitting in with her peers. Also, she learns a predictable lesson about being prideful.
I also liked a fine lesson imparted via Mr. Ray's words on page 264 of my edition: "You might as well learn right now...that the poorest guide you can have in life is what people will say."
And speaking of Mr. Ray... One thing that confused me about this book is that up until now, I thought the Ray family lived a modest lifestyle because Mr. Ray's shoe store provided for a decent but modest income. Now, all of a sudden, the Ray family seems to have an awful lot more money. The book doesn't explain the windfall, and I suppose it doesn't really matter, but it was a very noticeable change from the impression I got in earlier books.
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