Goodreads Mobile | see what your friends are reading

Oct 04, 2009

Abigail rated it:

Betsy Ray enters "The Winding Hall of Fate" in this sixth installment of Maud Hart Lovelace's Betsy~Tacy series, which opens just as she is about to become a sophomore at Deep Valley High School. As fun-loving and popular as ever, she is soon caught up in an eventful new year, replete with many firsts: dining at the fancy Moorish Café for her parents' wedding anniversary, visiting Tib in Milwaukee for Christmas, and spending time with wealthy newcomer Philip Brandish. As she struggles More...

14 comments like (5 people liked it)

Apr 11, 2010

Lisa rated it:

Unlike Heaven to Betsy, I liked this book immediately. I suppose I was already used to the high school aged Betsy. I am eager to read the rest of Maud Hart Lovelace's books. Heaven did grow on me, but this book felt cozy to me almost as much as did the first four books in the series, and I liked it almost as much as the first four books.

Not one false note! There isn’t anything that rings false in any of these Betsy-Tacy books. This book, along with all the others in this series, is s More...

9 comments like (3 people liked it)

Dec 11, 2009

Glorious.Clio rated it:

This may very well be my favorite High School book. Truly, the journey of self discovery is so true to Betsy, and to high schoolers everywhere. Even in an age when there was one telephone per house, most people still drove horses instead of cars and made fudge and sang, Betsy is a heroine with which girls can identify with. She struggles with trying to get boys to like her, even to the point of CHANGING herself to get a guy, but discovering that what she is sacrificing isn't worth it for what More...

0 comments like

Jan 26, 2010

Heidi rated it:

Another great book in the series. I didn't like her sophomore year as much as her freshman year in high school because I love The Crowd so much and was almost heart-broken to see them not come as much to the Ray home just because of Phil--whom I never liked. I was very happy with Betsy's great lesson that she got by the end. I liked how she came by it, how she accepted it, and what she did about it. It's something everyone needs to have in their life, more than once if necessary.

Othe More...

1 comment like

Sep 14, 2011

Jael rated it:

As I anticipated, I didn't enjoy this one all that much, although to be fair it *did* improve along the way.

I'm not sure if it's because I missed out on the whole teenage/high school culture or what, but I just can't relate to a bunch of frivolous, silly teenagers acting the way they act in this book. So concerned with hair and clothes and flirting with boys and all that.

I did find it a bit confusing with all the characters at the beginning and apparently the Rays moved. More...

0 comments like

Aug 07, 2008

Shelley rated it:

In the end, I recalled reading about Phil before, as well as the end results of the Essay Contest. But I guess my first read through, lo those many years ago, didn't make much of an impression. I think possibly because it was so boy-focused and I was more of a Tacy.

This had some really funny parts (loved Cab honestly saying he had finished page 536 of Ivanhoe the night before, without mentioning how he skipped 1-535), but it seemed to lack the charm of the last book for me. Loved in More...

1 comment like

Oct 22, 2007

Carmen rated it:

Betsy in Spite of Herself is a chronicle of Betsy Ray's sophomore year of high school, in which she decides to shed her wholesome image in favor of a more Dramatic and Mysterious one. This involves putting her hair up into a pompadour, wearing green, spraying herself with perfume, and a host of other beauty regimens.

Although these efforts allow her to ensnare rich, handsome Phil Brandish, Betsy soon discovers that she's pretty bored acting as a trophy girlfriend. By the end of the b More...

0 comments like

Sep 20, 2010

Megan rated it:

When I read these as a kid I really didn't care for this book. As an adult I think it may be my favorite of the High School books. The story rings the truest of all of them. As Betsy morphs into Betsye, I felt I could relate. As a teenager I was constantly seeking to change, and to push myself into a person who can only come with actual growing up. What I really enjoyed was how her sister affirmed her attempts, even though they failed horribly. Failure with a purpose.

0 comments like

Jun 09, 2011

Amy rated it:

I've been reading the Betsy-Tacy series for as long as I can remember; an aunt gave them to me for Christmas at some point in elementary school. I call the series my "comfort books." I frequently reread them when I'm visiting my parents, or when I need something to relax with. Fantastic children's chapter books--I'm going to curl up with this one for the afternoon. Like a piece of candy (that doesn't go straight to your hips, and teaches you about history!).

0 comments like

Mar 08, 2010

Anne rated it:

I'm so glad I decided to read all the rest of the Betsy-Tacy books. This one was utterly delightful, what with Betsy's trip to see Tib in Milwaukee, and Julia's opera, and the Leap Year dance. I think everyone needs to go on more picnics and have Sunday night lunch where anybody can drop by for sandwiches and singing. *sighs*

0 comments like

Dec 30, 2010

Linda rated it:

I think these coming of age books - although set in 1910 - 1918 - are as relevant today to young people as ever. Beautiful, heart-warming stories based on the author's life and friends. I read them first in high school and am rediscovering them now.

0 comments like

May 29, 2010

Marcy rated it:

The title says it all....in spite of herself Betsy is on her long path of finding how to be true to herself. Oh boy!! I love that food is embraced by everyone in such a luscious way..eggs, bacon, fried potatoes, buttered toast, coffee and cocoa (usually with mound of whipped cream)are a typical breakfast. Muffins out of the oven always for the first day of school, and Anna's homemade popovers "which helped any situation". Why don't they get fat? Oh yeh..no fast food and they w More...

0 comments like

Feb 22, 2010

Arren rated it:

Cute book, right along the lines of Ann of Green Gables but set in the US.
I jumped right in the middle of a series, and I felt it. There were some characters I knew I should have known but I didn't know who they were or where they fit. I guess I'll have to get cracking on the other books to find out. :)

0 comments like

Jan 15, 2012

Jess rated it:

It is SO WEIRD to read about Milwaukee as a destination. But other than that being completely disconcerting, I loved it. I do not love Phil. And I despair about Joe ever getting enough bookspace. Onto the next.

0 comments like

Aug 05, 2011

Kerith rated it:

I pulled this out last Advent and read it again (I don't know how many times I've read Lovelace's Betsy books) mainly to read again the story of Betsy's Christmas visit to Tib in Milwaukee. It was the Solstice and it seemed a good time of year to read about the overwhelmingly German city's celebrations of Christmas.
The book itself records Betsy's sophomore year of high school in which she tried to change herself into someone more "Dramatic and Mysterious" because she hasn't yet come to More...

0 comments like

Nov 17, 2010

Krista added it

Betsy expands her horizons and continues to mature during her sophomore year of high school. She has her first true romance, with dashing Phil Brandish, and visits her childhood chum Tib in Milwaukee. I admit that I've never longed to visit Milwaukee before, but Lovelace's descriptions may have changed my mind! The ultimate comfort reading.

0 comments like

Feb 09, 2011

Judy rated it:

Hard not to compare this one with Anne of the Island. But still, a good story in itself but I can't help just waiting for her to be with Joe, not Phil and whoever else comes her way.

0 comments like

Sep 08, 2011

Adela rated it:

Betsy longs to be different and transforms herself (she hopes) into dark and mysterious. I think everyone at some point longs to be different from themselves. Betsy makes some good and some silly "rules" to live by...keep your shirtwaist tucked in, always wear one kind of perfume, etc. In the end, like most people who attempt to pretend to be what they are not, Betsy is herself in spite of all her efforts to the contrary.

There was less fudge in this book than Heaven to Betsy More...

3 comments like

Jul 17, 2009

Clare rated it:

This book is a classic in so many ways. In every chapter there is a different story or tale of their life. They also go back to previous times in the book.

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Aug 05, 2011

Danielle added it

I still love the Betsy stories-even though it has been nearly 40 years since I first read them! All young girls would enjoy this series!

0 comments like

Dec 25, 2009

Melody rated it:

Betsy is a sophomore here, and though she learned some important lessons her freshman year, she is certainly not finished tripping herself up. She gets an opportunity, about half-way through the book, to spend Christmas in Milwaukee with Tib. She chooses to use this time to re-invent herself, but we as readers are privileged to be immersed in the uniquely German holiday customs of the early part of the last century. It's a brilliant bit of writing, and never fails to transport me utterly. Again, More...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Nov 01, 2011

Carrie rated it:

This is one of my favorite children's books and book series and I love rereading it. It's great historical fiction.

0 comments like

Jan 15, 2009

Kate rated it:

This book was really good, I really liked this book and thought it was sad and funny at the same time.

0 comments like

Feb 11, 2012

Grace rated it:

Love: ALMOST EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE. ESPECIALLY JOE.

Dislike: Phil Brandish and his sister Phyllis.

Enough said.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 01, 2011

Judy added it

Read it again! It's not my favorite of the whole collection but one of my favorites overall. It's fun reading about Betsy and her friends and trying to notice something new.

1 comment like

Sep 21, 2010

Luisa rated it:

God bless Sarah for introducing these books to me. I'm so glad to have another "old fashioned" book series about strong female characters to work my way through. Given my penchant for Anne of Green Gables and Laura Ingalls Wilder books when I was a kid, I can't believe I hadn't heard of these wonderful books until the end of 2009. As much as I love those aforementioned tales, Betsy somehow seems even more relatable as a heroine, perhaps because her daily life seems a little bit more More...

0 comments like

Dec 31, 2010

Bj rated it:

I read this ages ago. My mom had a copy printed in the 30's. Loved it!

0 comments like

Jun 13, 2011

Ro rated it:

Even if Betsy doesn't like math, at least her sister does. I love these books!

0 comments like

Jul 22, 2009

♥Rachel♥ rated it:

My grandmother is paying me 12.50 to read the last four Betsy Tacy books...
They're sooo boring!! :)

0 comments like

Jun 04, 2011

Katie rated it:

Betsy's sophomore year of high school.

0 comments like

reviews