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Dec 29, 2011

Laura rated it:

I loved the Betsy-Tacey books when I was younger, and was thrilled to learn that there were more books by Maud Hart Lovelace. Emily doesn't disappoint: the old-fashioned tone of the book perfectly depicts the life of early 20th century Midwesterners.

Compared to today's girls, Emily will seem mild and rather passive; by the standards of 1912, she's quite a go-getter. Her decisions regarding getting ahead with her life rather than moping because she doesn't have the educational opport More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Dec 09, 2011

Andie rated it:

This was recommended to me as a lesser known girl's classic coming of age story, in the vein of Anne of Green Gables or A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. While it has the quaint pace and charm of that sort of narrative, I wanted more from the book.

Set in 1912, the book centers around the year after Emily and all of her friends have graduated high school. While her friends have gone off to college, Emily stays behind to look after her grandfather. She believes herself to be in love with her c More...

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Jan 28, 2011

Janna rated it:

I have never read the classic Maud Hart Lovelace books including her Betsy-Tacy books and Emily of Deep Valley. I have been collecting the Betsy-Tacy books so I can read them with my daughters so when I had the opportunity to get this new re-release of Emily of Deep Valley I had to try it. I am pleased to say that I am looking forward to the Betsy-Tacy books based on this one (though this one actually comes after the others chronologically). It really took me back to the simple times of my child More...

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Nov 15, 2010

Martha rated it:

I missed out on Betsy -Tacy when I was young but thoroughly made up for it when my daughter was little. I read the adventures of Betsy, Tacy, Tib, and all their friends and family. I can’t count the times I would be the one to say “Let’s read Betsy-Tacy tonight”. Luckily for me she was always game. But somehow we never advanced to the books when Betsy was older and we completely missed the other Deep Valley books. Boy, were we missing something good.

Thanks to Book Club Girl a grievous More...

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May 02, 2010

Abigail rated it:

The second of Maud Hart Lovelace's Deep Valley books - tangentially related to her immensely popular ten-installment Betsy~Tacy series, which is centered upon the same fictional Minnesota town - Emily of Deep Valley was originally published in 1950, and depicts a year in the life of a young woman of 1912/13. Unlike Carney's House Party, another of the Deep Valley books, its heroine plays no part in the storyline of the main series, and - although Betsy Ray and Winona Root do make very brief appe More...

8 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jul 07, 2008

Libby rated it:

This book is a little old-fashioned, but so refreshing. Compared to the current books for the 9-12 year old girls, this one is uplifting and motivating. It definitely doesn't have the intense plotline of more modern children's books, but is still an engaging story. Also, like the Little House on the Prairie books, it gives good insight to the culture of America (just set in the early 1900's).

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 13, 2011

Genevieve rated it:

This was recommended by a friend, for whom the Betsy-Tacey books are longtime favorites; I probably wouldn't have picked it up on my own. That said, I did enjoy this--it's a sweet, cozy book with a very relatable main character, and I can easily see how it could become a beloved comfort read for many people. It fits somewhere on the continuum that contains Little Women and Anne of Green Gables (or Laura Ingalls Wilder's books--my own childhood favorites--minus the poverty and the wilderness). Wh More...

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Feb 12, 2012

Ellisa rated it:

I liked this story so much and wish I would have found it years and years ago. Someday Emily will be an old friend, but for now I'm still new to the crowd.

This is one of those classic, coming-of-age stories with a sweet, unassuming girl who overcomes her challenges and finds her happily-ever-after. It was very "Little Women" and "These Happy Golden Years" to me. The best part was that it made me want to improve myself. Emily is such a good example, I'll definit More...

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Dec 17, 2009

Jan rated it:

EODV is the best book by my favorite author. A dozen sermons are preached without any preachiness. This beloved novel is a self-help book and a wonderful romance all rolled into one. Almost anyone can relate to Emily's struggles at some point in their lives.

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

May 27, 2011

Mona rated it:

3.5 stars.

I started reading this book at 10 p.m. and finished it at 2 a.m. I should have known better than to pick up a book by Lovelace - didn't I remember tearing through the Betsy-Tacy series last year? As with those books, once I started this one, I couldn't stop until I had reached the end.

This book is set in the fictional town of Deep Valley (based on Mankato, MN), as is the Betsy-Tacy series. Some familiar characters like Cab Edwards, Carney Sibley, Miss Bangeter More...

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Jul 26, 2011

Jasmine rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Aug 24, 2011

Bluerose's rated it:

Emily of Deep Valley was my introduction into the world of Maud Hart Lovelace. In the past, I've enjoyed Amish books because they bring me into a world of simplicity. I've tired of Amish books at the moment, so I'm thrilled that these books bring me into that same world of simplicity!

I connected very easily with Emily. I could too easily see myself having the same feelings and thoughts through a great deal of the story. I think the big difference would be her great debating skills. More...

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Sep 02, 2011

Lawrence rated it:

I think I am the only man who has read and reviewed this book!!!

I continue my slow journey through the Deep Valley, Minnesota, of the early twentieth century. I like Deep Valley. I sense that it is a town of values we all share and a stability we would all like to have.

"Emily of Deep Valley" is the best of Ms. Lovelace's Deep Valley books (so far). First, in Emily Webster, she has created a real character who, after credible internal struggle and hurt, actual More...

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Aug 24, 2008

Shelley rated it:

8-23-08: I bumped the stars from 4 to 5. I loved Emily, I loved Cab and Alice and Betsy, I loved Jed. It still feels odd to me that they knew each other so briefly before the engagement, but he was exactly who and what she needed. (Although at times, it did feel like she was a little too dependent on him, but I don't see that lasting. Emily was a very strong lady.) Who was Emily based on, and Jed? I'd have liked to see her more - why devote an entire book to someone that Betsy really never inter More...

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May 13, 2011

Miriam rated it:

I'd read this once before, but enjoyed the second read. I like this one better than the Betsy-Tacy series, perhaps because I identified more with the main character. Also, I liked the parts about the Syrian settlement and Decoration Day. This new edition is nice because at the end there are pictures and short biographies of the people that Lovelace based the book on. Although the love story and descriptions of dances and courting would probably make it more interesting to a YA audience, there is More...

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Jul 28, 2011

laaaaames rated it:

I'm a little heartbroken I've now read all the Deep Valley books, but I'm so happy this was my last one. I love Betsy Ray, but all those ways that Betsy isn't like me, Emily totally is. I'm seriously so full of love for the people of Deep Valley. Lovelace is so adept at exploring the full expanse of people - and even though her characters are based closely on real life friends/family/acquaintances, it's still no small task.

(read: 57 (read a beautiful manuscript in between))

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May 27, 2010

JoDean rated it:

Just came in the mail today!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Finished it last night. I really enjoyed it! I loved how Emily was able to take her disappointment at not being about to go to college and use it productively - she self-educates!

The book is set in 1912-1913. If high schools today were like then, my kids would be going. Talk about a solid, classical education. Well, there were a few silly things the kids did, but they're kids right! And just silly, not wrong.

More...

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Jan 02, 2011

Rebecca rated it:

I sincerely wish I had stumbled upon this gem sooner. Deep Valley is Mankato of 1912. Unlike Betsy Ray of the Betsy, Tacy, and Tib books, Emily has a sadder tale. She lives alone with her grandfather. After high school graduation, she feels compelled to forgoe University studies to care for him. She struggles with being left out and left behind. She discovers that learning can take place outside of the classroom. It is a charming coming of age book.

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Mar 19, 2011

Leona rated it:

This book is definitely not my "usual" kind of book. I read about Maud Hart Lovelace in the Wall Street Journal and was written in 1950. Its target audience is young adults but I found it to be a very sweet story about Emily who graduates in 1912 from high school. Unable to go to college because she was taking care of her aged grandfather, she finds her own way in her small town and leaves behind her high school days and old friends.

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Sep 29, 2010

hannah rated it:

I can't believe I missed out on reading this when I was younger! I liked this almost more than the Betsy-Tacy books, because I can more identify with Emily than any other inhabitant of Deep Valley. This book was so much fun, and it's so relevant today when you look at the issues of sociology, immigration, treatment of immigrants, and high school social structure's demolishing after graduation.

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Jul 31, 2011

Lorna rated it:

*sniff* I have finally finished all the Betsy & Tacy/Deep Valley books. Being the reader I was (and am) I still don't know how I NEVER heard about these books as a kid, but better late than never. While I don't think I could love this one more than the Betsy high school books or Carney's House Party, I think this one would have really meant a lot to me had I read it as a teen.

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Jul 15, 2010

Margaret rated it:

Emily of Deep Valley may not be technically part of the Betsy-Tacy series, but along with Betsy and Joe, it's probably my favorite of all of the books.

It features a heroine who is, unlike Betsy, not really part of the in-crowd. Emily is intelligent and well-spoken, but introverted, and much of the book is about her adjustment to life after high school without her crowd of friends, who have all gone away to college. I love extroverted Betsy, but introverted Emily speaks to me in a mo More...

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Nov 07, 2010

Shelley rated it:

I checked this out to read Mitali Perkins's intro and the end biography bits on Vera Neville and Marguerite,and all of the above were wonderful. And then I couldn't not read the book, despite owning another copy. I seem to pull this out every few months when I need to re-muster my wits. Emily helps me so much.

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May 13, 2011

Sarah rated it:

This was as wonderful as I'd expected, coming from the same author as the Betsy-Tacy books. I missed it in childhood--I guess my public library didn't carry it--but it is a wonderfully nourishing and joy-filled first time read for a grown-up in the mood for some smart and wholesome retro charm (which I could use, since I just got done with the gloriously smutty The River Wife.

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Jun 19, 2011

Sarah rated it:

I love Maud Hart Lovelace books. They always transport me to a different time and place where saying "I love you" is equivalent to a proposal, phrases like "I'm not a lemon" are used, and friendships and family are cherished possessions.

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Mar 31, 2011

Amanda rated it:

I loved the Betsy-Tacy books as a child, and this book is written by the same author. It takes place in the early 1900's in Mankato, Minnesota. I wished I could walk into Emily's parlor and sit right down!

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May 18, 2010

Karla rated it:

How did I not discover Maud Hart Lovelace until now? I've been really enjoying reading her books - she reminds me of L.M. Montgomery. I loved Emily of Deep Valley - it was pretty much perfect!

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Mar 06, 2010

Bethany rated it:

I think that I've actually read this book twice it was so good. That's saying a lot b/c I NEVER re-read books. I mean what's the point, right? With this book however, I wasn't able to help myself.

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Feb 15, 2011

Linda Marie rated it:

My daughter became interested in this series and I never read any of the books. As a YA for my daughter I approve this book book and the entire series. Little House on the Prarie in the Midwest in 1900.

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May 18, 2011

Kari rated it:

I think this is my favorite of the Lovelace novels. I also think, dare I say, that maybe I liked Emily better than I like Betsy. Nope, I'm saying it. I definitely liked her better.

1 comment like

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