WE'RE GOING STEADY - chapters 2-4

We're back!

Before I get back to Patty and Ginger, this gorgeous girl is my mom, Janie, she is a wee bit older than these girls. She's probably their age in this picture, but it was a few years earlier. Still, a cute high school girl (who was GOING STEADY with my my future dad) and a Christmas tree, it kind of fits. 

I have decided to just put bullet points of the action for each chapter. If you want a better narrative, well, I might be the only game in town for this one. The only Goodreads review said, "I have loved every Lambert book that I've read but this one is just okay. " and that kind of sums it up. It is still fun to read, but sometimes reading Lambert I realize that I am in her mindset, but not today. 

Here are my observations/recap for Chapter 1. I am using bullet points because I am too lazy to tie sentences together. 

•  The high school is described as "the Mecca of her day."
• Patty is fixated on the popularity that going steady brings. Even though she'd rather just walk with Ginger, she'd miss the "envy of all the chattering groups of girls." when she gets to school with old Steve holding her books. 
• Patty and Ginger have a fight about how dull Steve is and Patty by extension. 
• We also learn that Steve is a cheerleader. I can't even... Because he has practice after school, he won't be at "the Cent" (the teen center) she can't go because she can't dance with another boy because she's GOING STEADY!!
• When she gets home, she tries to vent her frustration on her mom by complaining about her brother and his girlfriend being so aggressively physical. Her mom responds by pointing out how much more acceptable their brand of GOING STEADY is than Patty and Steve's.
• Steve calls to let her know that he is at the teen center waiting for her. Patty hops on her bike at his command and big brother Douglas and Mom start talking PDA. Steve says, "What do you want me to do? Act as if I don't like the girl, then go off and neck in the car." To which Mom replies, "Yes, son. Then we can all pretend it isn't happening." JK
• Douglas sets out an argument about how his love is forever and Patty is boy-crazy. And he isn't wrong.
• Patty comes back later with the happy glow of a girl who is completely fooling herself.

Chapter 2

• Patty is complaining about costumes for the dance while her parents are watching TV. She (and I am not making this up) "scowled at the screen where a foreign correspondent fought off an Arab." Why, Janet? Why??
• Patty has a great Christmas tree costume, but she wants to be Raggedy Ann to Steve's Raggedy Andy because they are GOING... oh never mind...
• I guess Patty bought herself a chrysanthemum to look cool, but it backfired because a bunch of girls had flowers from their beaux in the freshman section. An entire week's allowance pissed away.
• She turns down Ginger's offer to go to the drugstore to see the team, but when Steve asks, she's all in. 
• After, at home, she has a shoe emergency and her mother lets her borrow some heels and she practices walking in them. It's pretty cute.
• Bonnie, her future sister-in-law helps her put on a non-skanky lipstick and gives it to her as a little gift. Call me crazy, but I think that Bonnie is going to be a good influence. 

Chapter 3

• They get to the dance and Janet describes it wonderfully. 
• Ginger's date, Tim, is dressed as a polo player and he and Patty have a moment when they are introduced.
• But when he confidently asks her to dance, Steve informs him "Patty's my steady date." and it sounds so awful, even I start believing that going steady is wrong!
• Ginger is having a grand time with her blind date, even though her balloon girl costume keeps getting popped. 
• Patty looks great, but she's bored to tears just dancing with Steve in a desultory way, even though she claims otherwise. 
• Then Patty win's "most original girl" in the costume parade and "the evening became suddenly wonderful." She has won a diary - weird prize, but okay.
• Her brother asks her to dance and while it sounds like it would be embarrassing, it is the highlight of her night - after her win, of course. She gets to hang with "Bonnie and the older crowd" and is disappointed when she has to go back to Steve the snooze. 
• When she gets home Patty tells her parents basically what I just said in the last bullet point. Then she writes in her diary before bed and it's kind of adorable how Janet captures the teenage girl writing voice.

So we are about a third of the way through and I can't help but think the excitement of going steady is already wearing off for all of us. Steve seems like kind of a buzz kill and that Tim is dreamy as heck. Do you think Patty is going to be able to put two and two together here? I sure hope so!