Best friends at School (edition 1961)

Suzie and Co-Co return in this third and final chapter of their story - begun in Best Friends and continued in Best Friends in Summer - which chronicles their first year at Laurel Crest School for Girls, the boarding school to which they are sent when their newly married parents must spend some time in Japan. Although both love their new school - a rather progressive (and idealized) place where teachers consult with students, about the best way to study and conduct lessons - they soon come to have very different feelings about their new friend and fellow student, Paunami, the vivacious free-spirited daughter of a traditional Hawaiian dancer, who is attending Laurel Crest while her mother is on tour. It is this difference which drives the story, as Co-Co fiercely defends Paunami, when any criticism is leveled against her, or any demand concerning schoolwork is made upon her (such as that she actually do it), while Suzie secretly feels that Paunami is being spoiled, and is hurt and angry that Co-Co seems more interested in being friends with the Hawaiian girl, than in spending time with her new sister.

After enjoying the first two installments of Mary Bard's Best Friends series, I expected to simply love Best Friends at School, not simply because it is the conclusion of the story, but also because it is a school story - a genre I have been investigating of late, and find absolutely fascinating. Unfortunately, although I did find it engaging enough, and appreciated the school story aspects - there is a fabulous discussion in which Oli (Becky Doane), the girl longest in attendance at the school, explains the high standards which a Laurel Crest girl is expected to uphold - I also found myself rather irritated with the portrayal of Paunami, and with the way Bard handled Co-Co's involvement with her. Somehow, although I know Bard meant to be sympathetic to her Hawaiian character, it felt as if she were being treated more as an exotic infant by her creator, than as an real flesh-and-blood girl with problems adjusting to a very different lifestyle and culture. It's admirable that Bard sought to depict that struggle to adjust sympathetically, of course, but one wishes she'd made Paunami less one dimensional. After all, Co-Co too was a new-come immigrant, in the first book, and I never got the feeling that she was a walking stereotype. Similarly, although Bard is clearly trying to draw a parallel between Co-Co and Paunami's experiences, in explaining Co-Co's defense of her new friend, I found her depiction of Co-Co's quick flip-flop, in which she decides she must be stern with Paunami, rather unconvincing.

Despite these issues, I did enjoy Best Friends at School, and recommend it to those who have already read the first two books, or to those who are looking for American school stories. ( )