Betsy Was a Junior

The seventh book in Maud Hart Lovelace's Betsy~Tacy series - in which the youthful trials and tribulations of three Minnesota girls growing up in the early years of the twentieth century are detailed - Betsy Was a Junior (as the name would suggest) follows Betsy, Tacy and Tib through their third year of high school. There are changes aplenty, from Tib's return to Deep Valley and Julia's departure for University, to Betsy's creation of the Okto Delta sorority. Despite her list of plans, and her determination to make this her best school year ever, Betsy bungles it, neglecting her academic work, alienating much of the school, and even missing out on her third chance at the famed Philomathian/Zetamathian Essay Contest.

But although the show more story reads, in part, like a string of disasters (however entertaining), through all the ups and downs, some things remain constant. The strong ties of love, and warm sense of home, that characterize the Ray family, whether together or apart; the loyalty and camaraderie of Betsy's circle of friends, and their irrepressible sense of fun; and the essential goodheartedness of Betsy herself, who, though she does not always see the right way forward, is always on the lookout for it; are all here.

It is that, I think - that sense of the underlying goodness of people, even when their actions are less-than-kind, and not-so-admirable - that gives Betsy Was a Junior such emotional power. As someone with an interest in human rights, and an awareness of the ubiquity of their violation, I'm not sure I always believe in that goodness. As someone moreover, with few happy high school memories - yes, dissatisfaction with the high school experience seems to have become such a commomplace, that its expression feels almost redundant, but as with everything, there are degrees. I am, after all, a high school dropout - there is little in Betsy's school experience with which I can identify.

And yet... Lovelace makes me believe in the goodness of humanity. She makes me feel with Betsy, makes me see how easy it is, without ever intending it, to fall into the wrong way. Given who I am, that is an astonishing achievement. show less

Betsy, Betsy, Betsy. Can you never learn?

Betsy Ray ends her freshman (Heaven to Betsy) and sophomore years (Betsy in Spite of Herself) at Deep Valley High School vowing that she will become a more serious student and a better person. Indeed, she begins this seventh book in Maud Hart Lovelace’s series featuring best friends Betsy Ray, Tacy Kelly and Tib Muller vowing that this time, she really means it! With her older sister Julia gone off to the university, Betsy wants to spend more time with her family — especially little sister Margaret, concentrate on her writing and study hard.

But, alas! Betsy has been boy-crazy since Heaven to Betsy, and her resolutions always go by the wayside. It’s the year 1908, and perhaps it’s ever show more been thus. Maybe girls in every generation give in to shallowness and pursue a good time over planning for their futures. But Tacy and I managed to get through high school with fewer boyfriends but better grades and more accomplishments. It’s not a spoiler to say that Betsy ends this book vowing to do better next year, as she’s done the previous two books, but I’m tired of broken promises. I may read the next in the series, Betsy and Joe. Or maybe not. show less

The Best School Year Ever - That's the kind of junior year Betsy Ray has planned for herself. And when her childhood friend Tib Muller moves back to Deep Valley, Betsy's sure her perfect year is off to a grand start. With charming, funny Tib around, Crowd doings are more fun than ever -- especially after Betsy starts Okto Delta, the first-ever sorority at Deep Valley High. But soon Betsy's luck takes a bad turn. The Crowd is getting into trouble at school, and Betsy isn't given a chance to compete in the annual Essay Contest. Could Betsy's best school year turn out to be her worst?

9/2012 As hard as this one is to read (because it rings so true) there are parts that I love as much as anything else in the series. This is the book which caused me to fall in love with Cab. And then the momentous scratching of the dance! And the postcard. There's a lot of growth in this book, and I love it though it's never going to be easy.

12/2009 This particular book makes me want to reach through the years and shake Betsy so hard her teeth chatter. She's lost nearly all the ground she gained in the first two years of high school, she's flitting from interest to interest, she's just not focused- and yet, and yet... I love her so. Also, in this volume we are introduced to that exciting specimen, the Perfectly Awful Girl- to show more wit:

"'Tony is suspended again,' Alice said.
'What happened?'
'I hate to say it, but I believe he came to school when he'd been drinking. He goes into the saloons sometimes with that fast gang he runs with.'
'He's going around with a perfectly awful girl.'"

But there is ultimately redemption:

"'I believe that's it,' she thought. 'And the bright side of it is that you never slip down to quite the point you started climbing from. You always gain a little...'"

Words to live by, indeed. show less

While Betsy and her friends are still as fun loving as ever and their antics amusing, the theme of the novel - that it is time for Betsy to grow up and mature - makes the tone almost unavoidably preachy. It seemed written by rule, rather than by life and so ultimately falls a bit flat.

We're back again with Betsy and her friends. Her older sister Julia has left for "university", and Betsy tries to be more responsible, mature, but her attempts often backfire in ways she never imagined. Still, she's writing again, which is an improvement over last year and her dismal essay contest results. Amusing, touching, even exasperating at times, this book is a keeper.

The Best School Year Ever - That's the kind of junior year Betsy Ray has planned for herself. And when her childhood friend Tib Muller moves back to Deep Valley, Betsy's sure her perfect year is off to a grand start. With charming, funny Tib around, Crowd doings are more fun than ever -- especially after Betsy starts Okto Delta, the first-ever sorority at Deep Valley High. But soon Betsy's luck takes a bad turn. The Crowd is getting into trouble at school, and Betsy isn't given a chance to compete in the annual Essay Contest. Could Betsy's best school year turn out to be her worst?