Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
43rd out of 240 books
—
175 voters
Heaven to Betsy (Betsy-Tacy #5)
High School is HeavenIt's Betsy Ray's freshman year at Deep Valley High School, and she and her best childhood chum, Tacy Kelly, are loving every minute. Betsy and Tacy find themselves in the midst of a new crowd of friends, with studies aplenty (including Latin and--ugh--algebra), parties and picnics galore, Sunday night lunches at home--and boys
There's Cab Edwards, the j...more
There's Cab Edwards, the j...more
Paperback, 368 pages
Published
January 1st 1945
by HarperTrophy
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
3,000)
Jul 08, 2009
Abigail
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Betsy-Tacy Fans
Recommended to Abigail by:
The Usual Suspects
Shelves:
childrens-fiction,
maud-hart-lovelace
Review Temporarily Removed.
4 likes · like · see review
view all 38 comments
Sep 14, 2012
Melody
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
comfort-read,
favorites
9/2012 Lovelace is such a good writer. I did not notice the artfulness when I was a child reading these books, I only knew I loved them.
12/2009 Is it monotonous to start all my BT reviews with "I love this book"? Well, too bad, I LOVE this book. It's extremely well-written, but that's not why I love it. I don't think I even noticed it was made of words till I was out of my own teens.
Betsy is a freshman at Deep Valley High School, and in this eventful year she goes through some very traumatic t...more
12/2009 Is it monotonous to start all my BT reviews with "I love this book"? Well, too bad, I LOVE this book. It's extremely well-written, but that's not why I love it. I don't think I even noticed it was made of words till I was out of my own teens.
Betsy is a freshman at Deep Valley High School, and in this eventful year she goes through some very traumatic t...more
3 likes · like · see review
Maud Hart Lovelace is one of my all-time comfort authors. I discovered the Betsy-Tacy books when I was high school, so I never read the younger books - I just stuck with the older ones, which follow Betsy through high school into her world travels and then marriage.
Betsy Ray and Tacy Kelly met at Betsy's 5th birthday party and have been best friends ever since. They live in the picturesque small town Deep Valley, Minnesota in the early 1900s (high school class 1910). Part of the charm of these b...more
Betsy Ray and Tacy Kelly met at Betsy's 5th birthday party and have been best friends ever since. They live in the picturesque small town Deep Valley, Minnesota in the early 1900s (high school class 1910). Part of the charm of these b...more
This is the first book in the series of "older" Betsy even though it is actually the 5th book in the series. Heaven to Betsy is one of the most characteristic of this loved series. If you haven't read any of the others, you'd still enjoy it! Betsy and Tacy enter the wider world of the Deep Valley High School, the "Crowd," sings around Julia's piano, fudge, Heinz's . . . full of gentle humor, vivid characterization, and affection. It's Betsy Ray's freshman year at Deep Valley High School, and she...more
i got my first Betsy-Tacy-Tib book from my next door neighbor. i was in the fourth grade. she only had sons.
i've read almost all of the books in the series but i really only care about the one's that cover betsy's high school years.
these books are amazing because they were written in the 30s and 40s about a girl in the 1910s, yet the family was pretty progressive. one of their daughter's went through a religious conversion, one of their daughter's went off to europe to sing opera and wear rouge...more
i've read almost all of the books in the series but i really only care about the one's that cover betsy's high school years.
these books are amazing because they were written in the 30s and 40s about a girl in the 1910s, yet the family was pretty progressive. one of their daughter's went through a religious conversion, one of their daughter's went off to europe to sing opera and wear rouge...more
I love, love, love this series and have since I was little. I bought all the Betsy books when I found out I was pregnant just so my little girl would be able to easily read them too. I know, that may have been a bit early, but I adore these books so much that I just couldn't wait. Plus it gave me the chance to re-read them. I love these books because Lovelace captures the emotions, anxieties, and dreams of a young girl so very well, and the turn of the century setting is a very comforting, charm...more
This is the only book in the series our library has, so I read it first. I would like to read the rest in the series. It is a nice fluffy story (the introduction by Anna Quindlen does point out the feminist leanings of the books, which was kind of neat) but I think it fits the mindset of a normal 14 year old girl with the boy crazyness and the emphasis on looks. But after that it is way shallow. Betsy is so popular with the boys and girls, and her house is the main hangout and her older sister i...more
I can't even begin to express how much I LOVE this series of books. I discovered them at my school's library when I was in elementary school, and instantly fell in love. I have read them over and over again throughout the years, and they still hold up.
The series starts with the book "Betsy-Tacy" and is about two little girls (5 years old at the time) called Betsy and Tacy. The books take place at the turn of the century in Minnesota and are just wonderful stories of growing up. There are about t...more
The series starts with the book "Betsy-Tacy" and is about two little girls (5 years old at the time) called Betsy and Tacy. The books take place at the turn of the century in Minnesota and are just wonderful stories of growing up. There are about t...more
This book is just fine. But there's too much change! Ah!
First of all, Betsy moves! And then, because of that...
My main qualm is that there is way way way too much boy-stuff and not NEARLY enough Tacy. In fact, since Tacy isn't boy crazy she ends up on the periphery of pretty much all the goings on of freshman year. And in turn, I ended up resenting every other girl introduced in this book. In short: screw you, Bonnie and Carney. Give me back my Tacy. ASAP. Also, it was clear all along what a bad...more
First of all, Betsy moves! And then, because of that...
My main qualm is that there is way way way too much boy-stuff and not NEARLY enough Tacy. In fact, since Tacy isn't boy crazy she ends up on the periphery of pretty much all the goings on of freshman year. And in turn, I ended up resenting every other girl introduced in this book. In short: screw you, Bonnie and Carney. Give me back my Tacy. ASAP. Also, it was clear all along what a bad...more
Nov 02, 2010
Krista
added it
I find that returning to childhood favorites during times of stress soothes my frazzled nerves. Lovelace's books have had that effect on me ever since I discovered them on the shelves of Kingston Elementary School during the 1980s. This book follows Betsy through her freshman year at Deep Valley High School, from academics to friendships to a couple of blossoming romances. She contends with moving away from her childhood home, the struggle of balancing schoolwork (and her love of writing) with a...more
When I first read this as a kid I came to it straight from the younger Betsy-Tacy titles and disliked it enough to not finish it. I can't remember exactly why - I guess I just preferred the younger Betsy at that age. I didn't pick up any of the Betsy high school titles until I was in college, and then I was completely hooked. This title gives us the story of Betsy's freshman year, introduces us to The Crowd (and Joe Willard), the delights of Sunday night lunch (I want to do that!), allows us to...more
I liked this book about Betsy's freshman year in high school. She is a bit boy-crazy, but it is old-fashioned-innocent boy-craziness. The biggest problem for me is the use of a ouiji board. At that time, it was considered an innocent parlor game, but I think much of the time people aren't aware that something popular and seemingly "innocent" actually can be quite dangerous. However, I think this is a good way to introduce this topic to your girl and discuss choices we make. Betsy has a great rel...more
I've learned from this book that vast amounts of fudge and cocoa do not lead to expanding waistlines or blemishes. I've learned that it takes a lot of courage to be yourself and less to go with the flow and do what is expected of you. But sometimes, you really learn a hell of a lot more by going the second route. And finally letting your little shine is much sweeter because of it. I learned that finding yourself is a journey and one best done with someone who knows you well and loves you anyway....more
When I turn the calendar page to September each year, I always get a hankering to read Heaven to Betsy and the other three books that take Betsy, Tacy, and their friends through high school in the first decade of the twentieth century.
Maud Hart Lovelace's Betsy is an aspiring writer. She is also warm hearted and gregarious, with a close group of friends. Her desire to be popular and her crush on a new boy in town war with her ambition to win the school's essay contest.
Deep Valley, a river town n...more
Maud Hart Lovelace's Betsy is an aspiring writer. She is also warm hearted and gregarious, with a close group of friends. Her desire to be popular and her crush on a new boy in town war with her ambition to win the school's essay contest.
Deep Valley, a river town n...more
I picked up some very good flirting tips from this one.
The books I remember best were about Betsy, Tacy, and Tib in grade school; Heaven to Betsy regales the reader with stories from their freshman year of high school, modeled on the turn-of-the-century Minnesota small town Maud herself recalled so fondly.
I was nervous that upon rereading the stories would not hold up -- that, rather than giddily enjoying the characters I had grown up loving, I would be dismayed at provincialism or outdated views of gender, etc., etc. But I should have had more fait...more
I was nervous that upon rereading the stories would not hold up -- that, rather than giddily enjoying the characters I had grown up loving, I would be dismayed at provincialism or outdated views of gender, etc., etc. But I should have had more fait...more
The adventures of Betsy and Tacy continue with this entry, which chronicles their freshman year in high school. Betsy falls in with a new crowd and becomes rather boy crazy. No worries, though. The boys are quite crazy about vivacious Betsy.
Also, the Ray family moves, a new housekeeper is hired, and Betsy and Julia become Episcopalians. The whole church subplot is a little strange, but perhaps it was not an unusual issue for the times.
Anyway, there’s not enough Tacy in this entry, which is disap...more
Also, the Ray family moves, a new housekeeper is hired, and Betsy and Julia become Episcopalians. The whole church subplot is a little strange, but perhaps it was not an unusual issue for the times.
Anyway, there’s not enough Tacy in this entry, which is disap...more
Feb 18, 2012
Marie
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Classics, Children's, Fans of Little House on the Prairie
Recommended to Marie by:
Heather Vogel Frederick
Shelves:
read-for-book-club
Okay, so I've been putting off writing this review for a while, but not because I didn't like it. This book was so amazing and there was so much I liked about it that I don't even know how to approach describing it. First thing's first: I really loved this book with all of my soul, and even took a late night to finish it.
This book was mainly a very lengthy description of Betsy's newfound popularity. She has a "Crowd" that she hangs out with every day. Betsy is now a mature young woman, who is in...more
This book was mainly a very lengthy description of Betsy's newfound popularity. She has a "Crowd" that she hangs out with every day. Betsy is now a mature young woman, who is in...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Heaven to Betsy introduces us to Betsy just before she begins her freshman year of high school, and takes us through the ups and downs of that first year. This is one of my two favorites of the entire series (the other being Betsy and the Great World). If I start listing everything I love about this book you’re going to get something like “Miss Mix creates stylish new outfits and Mr Ray makes onion sandwiches and there are picnics and the Crowd and Halloween and Carney and Tony and JOE!” and the...more
I remember reading this for school, the assignment being to read any book we liked, find words we were unfamiliar with and look them up. Having read these books before, I had a pretty good idea of what everything meant, so I had to pick really unusual ones. As I read, I remembered picking pompadour, Gibson Girl and spoony. I can't remember if that last one was in the dictionary, but I really doubt it!
This book was thoroughly charming. I enjoy Betsy, Tacy and the Crowd and Mrs. Ray remains my fav...more
This book was thoroughly charming. I enjoy Betsy, Tacy and the Crowd and Mrs. Ray remains my fav...more
I’ve been afraid to read/re-read this, and I procrastinated for a long time. I loved the first four books so much. I have a memory of reading this and Betsy in Spite of Herself when I was young (the only two in this series I knew about and read) and I never re-read them or searched out other companion books so I’m thinking I only liked them at best, and at worst thought they were just okay, and didn’t really like or love them. I didn’t remember this as I was reading so I’m treating reading this...more
3 likes · like · see review
This was definately different from the earlier Betsy books. It was strange at first reading about Betsy as a boy mad teen! I still liked it though, but wished there was more Tacy. Her life seems exhausting with the constant parties and people always round her house! Reading about her leaving her beloved childhood home really brought back memories for me. Going straight onto Betsy in Spite of Herself.
Betsey Ray is one of the most charming characters in literature. I simply love her. I read these books aloud to my daughter, and we giggle and sympathize as Betsey struggles to grow up, live up to the expectations of others, live up to her expectations of herself, and keep her hair in good order with her "magic wavers.". Sometimes Betsey 's world seems to be vastly different from the one we live In today, but more often than not, she seems just like us! Only she makes more homemade fudge.
High School in 1906 is so fun!
You learned Latin and Greek History. There were also essay writing contests( About the US role in the Philippines) , chaste glances across a crowded room, live-in maids and Christian Endeavour!
Actually Maud Hart Lovelace does make her High School years sound incredibly fun in these books. Though I had to keep reminding myself not to romanticize the past too much. Sure times were good in Deep Valley Minnesota in 1906, but how about Chicago? Not so much.
You learned Latin and Greek History. There were also essay writing contests( About the US role in the Philippines) , chaste glances across a crowded room, live-in maids and Christian Endeavour!
Actually Maud Hart Lovelace does make her High School years sound incredibly fun in these books. Though I had to keep reminding myself not to romanticize the past too much. Sure times were good in Deep Valley Minnesota in 1906, but how about Chicago? Not so much.
I know there's much more to say than this, but this was my first foray into the older Betsy books -- I read Betsy-Tacy when I was little, but not with the deep affection that many others did -- and my overwhelming impulse was to live-blog it. I don't think I loved it as much as I would have if I'd read it over and over when I was younger, as I did with Gene Stratton Porter's books, but I kept cracking up and wishing I had somebody next to me on the train to read parts out loud to.
1 like · like · see review
in which betsy begins high school! i was a little dubious about making the transition to teen fiction with maud hart lovelace, but i needn't have worried. i just loved this installment, and lovelace is spot-on in her descriptions of homesickness, the excitement of new friends, and what it feels like when the boy who used to like you likes another girl. (that cad!) "heaven to betsy" makes me want to put my hair up in a pompadour and sing around the piano.
I had to find out what happened to Betsy-Tacy-and Tib as they grew up. I'm a sucker for these kinds of series! What a delight to discover them now! Very much like Anne of Green Gables in that the series follows Betsy into adulthood. But also more in the feel of the movies like "By the Light of the Silvery Moon" with Doris Day and Gordon MacRae. This particular book is Betsy's freshman year of high school and her larks with her "Crowd".
This book was lighthearted and heart warming. I absolutely fell on love with the characters. I've always wanted to live in this era of time and this setting perfectly describes how life was. The story has a great plot line, and the characters all seemed so realistic. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a great teen fiction book. Anyone who doesn't like historical fiction, read this book and it will completely change your mind.
"The hills were white now; she and Tacy couldn't go up to their bench. Betsy's old house was rented, and about the time she left the Kellys, the lights would go on in the windows.
At this hour, often, the sky was the color of a dove's breast. The snow which all day long had sparkled in the sunshine looked pale. Walking homeward, looking up at the sky, and around her a the wan landscape, she felt an inexplicable yearning. It was mixed up with Tony, but it was more than Tony. It was growing up; it...more
At this hour, often, the sky was the color of a dove's breast. The snow which all day long had sparkled in the sunshine looked pale. Walking homeward, looking up at the sky, and around her a the wan landscape, she felt an inexplicable yearning. It was mixed up with Tony, but it was more than Tony. It was growing up; it...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The best youth series EVER | 1 | 19 | Dec 01, 2007 01:15pm |
Maud Hart Lovelace was born on April 25, 1892, in Mankato, Minnesota. She was the middle of three children born to Thomas and Stella (Palmer) Hart. Her sister, Kathleen, was three years older, and her other sister, Helen, was six years younger. “That dear family" was the model for the fictional Ray family.
Maud’s birthplace was a small house on a hilly residential street several blocks above Mankat...more
More about Maud Hart Lovelace...
Maud’s birthplace was a small house on a hilly residential street several blocks above Mankat...more
Share This Book
1 trivia question
More quizzes & trivia...
“You might as well learn right now, you two, that the poorest guide you can have in life is what people will say.”
—
16 people liked it
“And yet, even as she spoke, she knew that she did not wish to come back. not to stay, not to live. She loved the little yellow cottage more than she loved any place on earth. but she was through with it except in her memories. ”
—
16 people liked it
More quotes…
