Not to brag, but the cover on the right is my very own which looks clearer than the one on the left. Not even a professional book photographer! But enough about that...
BIG NEWS!! This is where worlds collide! This is a Jordan family book, but guess who some of the secondary characters (and one particularly dreeeeeeeeamy secondary character) are? THE PARRISHES!!
When we left the Jordans there was a war on, their Dad was gone and Jennifer was in charge of everything. Now Dad is home, they have just moved to Governers Island where the Parrish family lives and Jennifer is still in charge of Everything. Tippy and Bobby are their neighbors. And Penny and Carrol and their dull husbands and superfluous children make an appearance as well.
The main focus is on Alice, who sometimes goes by Alcie which sounds cuter in my head than it looks on the page. It looks like a salve for eczema in print. So Alcie is our heroine, and her foil is her sister Gwenn. Which is rough on her because she loves Gwenn, who is her only living blood relative. (General Jordan is their stepfather, their Mom is dead and the little ones are their half-siblings.)
Also, Gwenn is completely nuts. Well, she is definitely a narcissist and possibly a sociopath. I read about these things on the internet so I can diagnose her with complete confidence.
Once again, I have done chapter recaps as I read and will transcribe them here. But before I do, I found that those of my books that aren't library copies are inscribed as gifts! This one just says To Carolyn with love from Carole. Here, it looks like this -
The dedication is thus. "To all those girls whose letters I have been unable to answer, this book is lovingly dedicated. Janet Lambert" That's sweet!
Away we go-
CHAPTER 1
The Jordans are on Governers Island. Gwenn is still a snot and Alice is still lovely. Jennifer still mothers them and the rest of the family is much as we left them at the end of JUST JENNIFER, except Peter who is at West Point. It opens with Gwenn and Alice at the pool where Gwenn gets all pissy about how no one was talking to them. She's got issues. I am pretty sure I have spotted Tippy and her brother, but it might be some other gal. Stay tuned! (Well, I already spoiled that surprise...)
CHAPTER 2
Tippy it was! And she's having a gathering of her crowd to meet Alice and Gwenn. But Gwenn is being a troll and won't go. The boys are disappointed because Gwenn is HAWT, but they welcome Alice while Gwenn sulks upstairs.
CHAPTER 3
Alcie is raring to become part of the post social whirl, but Gwenn is claiming her lousy manners are part of being an artiste. Bobby shows up last minute at a party Alice throws and because he is there, Gwenn comes downstairs and charms Bobby, of course. Stupid boy.
CHAPTER 4
There is a swim meet and Alcie and Bobby want to meet a blowhard named Pugs Bonham - which is an awesome 60s British rock star name! However, things do not go as planned when Gwenn finagles a ride to Manhattan from Bobby to pick up some papers at Barnard for Jen. This is an unnecessary fool's errand and makes Bobby miss the meet. Pugs beats Alice and everyone hates Gwenn.
CHAPTER 5
Gwenn is a narcissistic monster, but Alice loves her. She is conflicted because the crowd hates Gwenn, and she feels badly about leaving her out. Not that Gwenn notices. Tippy ADORES Alice. She invites her to the city, but Alicie says no because Gwenn isn't invited. When Mrs. Parrish and Tippy suss this out, they include Gwenn and all is well. They take the girls to Hardi's (Sardi's?) for lunch and then to see SECOND FIDDLE - Penny's successful play. Alcie cries like a baby because she loves art and Gwenn pictures herself as the star of the play because other people don't exist for her. Also, the girls are rich, so that's nice.
CHAPTER 6
Apparently this chapter was filled with conflict, but it felt like exposition to me! Jennifer got a letter from Cyril, now 21, who wants her to go to England with some of the kids. She doesn't trust that he really loves her, he thinks he is just lonely. She is going to go to West Point to visit Peter. Gwenn wants to go but is too young. She appears to be planning something. Quelle suprise.
CHAPTER 7
Jennifer is getting ready to go to a kick ass party at the point. It is called Illuminations and everyone goes in costume and there is fire. I don't know, it was a different time... Gwenn isn't allowed to go because she is a sociopath. I mean, too young. Once Jennifer leaves, Gwenn decides to sneak up there too. And Alice desperately needs a xanax.
CHAPTER 8
GWENN SNEAKS OFF TO THE POINT!! She is so naughty... She just doesn't care about consequences at all. Alice chases after her. I didn't really know why at first, it is the Point, she will probably be safe. (Later I realized that Alice didn't want Jennifer's big weekend to be ruined by having to take responsibility for one more freaking kid. Alice is VERY thoughtful.) There is something really wrong with Gwenn. It is surprising to me that Janet is so forthright about it. This book is about dealing with a family member with mental illness in the way that CANDY KANE was about surviving childhood abuse. It is kind of jarring with all the time appropriate other stuff to see - wow, people were dealing with dysfunctional family issues back then. Usually we only see the happy side, particularly in 1940s YA books. I wonder if Gwenn will be redeemed like Leigh and Marcia.
CHAPTER 9
Alcie finds Gwenn at the hotel and brings her home. Something is really wrong with Gwenn. Lambert describes her internal monologue on page 108 and it's terrifying! Did I ever feel like that at age 15? I can't remember. Harry Harkins, the cadet Gwenn picked up to take her to the dance ends up being a very nice guy. Although he is 23 - WAY too old to be squiring Gwenn around. They see Jennifer at the illuminations from a distance and then head home.
CHAPTER 10
Gwenn needs an inpatient program, but since it is 1947 she is going to boarding school instead. She enjoys making Alice feel bad and tries to guilt her into going to boarding school too, but Alice fights back! And with the encouragement of Bobby Parrish, she sticks to her guns. Also, the girls are invited up to the farm to see Penny, Josh, Carrol and David. How fun! Also, I love that Bob is impervious to Gwenn's charms now. Those Parrish kids grew up all right!
CHAPTER 11
The girls go to the farm and Gwenn falls IN LOVE with Penny. Finally there is someone who understands her. She pretends to be Penny that night and everyone is charmed by her. Then they go to a carnival and Alice gets stuck on the ferris wheel for no good reason.
CHAPTER 12
They go do farm work, but the important content here is the conversations. Penny breaks down Gwenn like a pro and Gwenn sees that Penny "gets her" and really opens up. Bobby realizes that he likes Alice because she "minds him" but she is stronger than he realizes.
CHAPTER 13
Penny sets Gwenn up with Marenka Savatskya - a famous dancer and lunatic. She is artsy as hell, but gives Gwenn hope that she could become an excellent dancer with the right training and sets her up to train with Gradorviski - the greatest dance teacher in all the land! So now she's not going to boarding school and we find out that no one wanted her to go in the first place. Also, Cyril's coming back from England and Jennifer is the best.
CHAPTER 14
Things are on an even keel. Tippy and Alice are thick as thieves. Gwenn is rehearsing all the time. Jennifer is entertaining soldiers, in a nice way. Then Cyril comes back! He is handsome and loves Jenny and vice versa. He proposes for next June. Also there are hijinks with a horse.
CHAPTER 15
There is a dance planned for Tippy's 15th birthday. Alcie doesn't have anything to wear other than a "baby dress" so Jennifer sets her up with her best blue dress on loan. Gwenn is ridiculous and says she won't go to the dance because Jennifer didn't offer the dress to her. She is getting a little better, but is still not fixed by a long shot. Anyhoo- the clothes all work out. Bobby sends Alice 3 gardenias and it is adorable. Alice also tells Jenny to marry Cyril and she and Gwenn will take care of everything at home. The dance is glorious and Lambert does a terrific job of illustrating that teenaged feeling that - even when you are having the best time ever [Alice] with the cute boy of your dreams [Bobby] still worrying that it'll never last. Luckily, Bobby is a smooth operator and invites Alcie, just her alone, to drive to high school with him. Nicely done, Bobby. And Janet.
This is a favorite! Next up MISS TIPPY!
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