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285th out of 896 books
—
1,709 voters
Mr. and Mrs. Bo Jo Jones
by
Ann Head
Football hero Bo Jo Jones and his girlfriend July are in love. On the night of the prom, they do what so many couples in love do. Soon, July finds out that she is pregnant with Bo Jo's baby and suddenly the life they once knew is over. Now Mr. and Mrs. Bo Jo Jones must come to grips with the very adult decision that they must make. It's a situation that holds more possibil...more
Paperback, 208 pages
Published
May 1st 1968
by Signet
(first published 1967)
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This is a beautiful story about a young couple in the late nineteen-sixties and what happens when they are faced with an unexpected pregnancy. The story is told through the eyes of July, the sixteen year-old girlfriend of Bo Jo.
THe slang is different than today's language but I quickly got used to that and enjoyed July's voice. I liked the stories of July's friends and the choices they made regardiing premarital sex and pregnancy so that the book showed various options that could have happened....more
THe slang is different than today's language but I quickly got used to that and enjoyed July's voice. I liked the stories of July's friends and the choices they made regardiing premarital sex and pregnancy so that the book showed various options that could have happened....more
May 12, 2012
Lynne
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
I have no idea; it's a bit outdated for today's teens
Recommended to Lynne by:
It was a TV movie, so I decided to read the book
3.5 stars, with extra credit for honesty.
I forgot I'd read this book back in seventh grade. At the time, I didn't realize how groundbreaking it was--after all, I'd read The Outsiders, Stephen King's Carrie, and Go Ask Alice as well as other books dealing with teen pregnancy. "Edgy" and "controversial" were pretty much the norm by the 1970's, and my parents never censored anything I read.
But this book is set a few years earlier, and it was one of the first to deal honestly with the struggles of...more
I forgot I'd read this book back in seventh grade. At the time, I didn't realize how groundbreaking it was--after all, I'd read The Outsiders, Stephen King's Carrie, and Go Ask Alice as well as other books dealing with teen pregnancy. "Edgy" and "controversial" were pretty much the norm by the 1970's, and my parents never censored anything I read.
But this book is set a few years earlier, and it was one of the first to deal honestly with the struggles of...more
Written in the late 1960s, this story is about a young teenage couple who gets married because July Greher gets pregnant by her boyfriend, Boswell Johnson Jones. July comes from an old established family who is upper middle class. Boswell Johnson (Bo Jo) comes from a lower middle class family. Both sets of parents are upset. July refuses to consider an abortion. She is also dismayed at the situation she is in, but feels that getting married and keeping the baby is a more positive way to go than...more
I'm surprised at how much I really really liked this book. As I said in my status update, it reads a bit like an episode of "16 and Pregnant." All the same emotions (on the part of the viewer/reader) are there, hope for the kids and their baby, sorrow for the parents' and their own crushed hope, frustration that the parents won't listen to the kids and that the kids are too young to communicate maturely. July and Bo Jo are both so sweet and trying their hardest to be grown up it just about break...more
Really, I think this is a great book for high schoolers to read. The book details the shotgun wedding of 16-yea-old July Gehrer and 17-year-old football star Bo Jo Jones. Bo Jo has to give up his dreams of college and a football scholarship to support his new young wife, July. The marriage is at first rocky, and fight-filled, but in time the couple begin to develop mature love for one another. Neither of their families are supportive, and sometimes blatantly, but always surreptitiously, hope for...more
Jan 17, 2013
Garrett
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
ya-literature-books-1-12
An interesting story about teenage lovers who having gone a little further than either thought they would try to reconcile their actions to the outside world independent of its aid. Upon finding out that she is pregnant they decide to elope. A heavy theme of the book has to do with the two trying to balance out their relationship with each other and with each other's families.
First off, if my copy of the book had had this cover I'm pretty sure I would have skipped it. Looks aside I found the boo...more
First off, if my copy of the book had had this cover I'm pretty sure I would have skipped it. Looks aside I found the boo...more
Mr. & Mrs. Bo Jo Jones, by Ann Head, is a book I first read in High School. I remember adoring the book and its characters, so I was happy to find a copy of the book and dive into it again years later. I loved it back then when I first read it, and I loved it just as much now. This book was written back in the late 1960’s and IMHO, it stands the test of time. The book is different from today’s standards in certain ways. You don’t have intricate plot twists, varying themes throughout the stor...more
This was a lovely novel in the 1960's which really depicted a teenage romance and the love that they had for one another. When July becomes pregnant after her prom night, Bo Jo and her have many decisions to make. It's sad how both of the families turn against each other and blame the other person for what is going on instead of looking at the big picture and trying to figure out what to do about the baby. The book really touched upon the many different things that can happen during pregnancy an...more
Jan 09, 2013
Aheem
added it
Mr. and Mrs. Bo Jo Jones (208 pages) is a classic, realistic fiction novel by Ann Head. Set in the mid 1900’s, the plot revolves around July and Bo Jo, a teenage couple who unexpectedly become pregnant. Because of the expectations and pressure of their society, they quickly get married. July is a girl from an upper class family who believes it would be wrong to illegally terminate the pregnancy, so she is prepared to raise her child with her less privileged boyfriend, Boswell Jones. When one of...more
This is a story about teens who think they take life serious and know what they need to do in order to succeed in life, but when it comes to holding themselves back from immediate pleasure; they find themselves trapped in a predicament no one wanted. July's pregnancy changes everything, Bo Jo has to drop out of high school, dreams of college scholarships are out, their parents find this as another reason why they can't make their own decisions and treat them as kids even more. But together they...more
Jan 11, 2010
Nic
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
ya-lit-class-spring-2010
I had a problem with the premise of this book, that July and Bo Jo feel the need to get married. When it happened, I figured that it was the expectation of their times and society, that they’d be shunned if they didn’t, but when they started telling people, everyone was shocked and upset. July’s parents want an annulment even after they know about the pregnancy, and everyone’s families are devastated by the idea that these two kids have thrown away their futures. Still, July and Bo Jo fiercely d...more
Bo Jo Jones and his girlfriend July are in love and on their prom night, they do what many couple in love do. When July realizes that she is pregnant, Bo Jo and July must face the fact that they have to get married. They are fresh out of high school, and have no clue what they are doing. They realize that marriage and raising a baby at such a young age isn't all that it is cracked up to be, but they fight through the hard times because that is what needs to be done, and because they love each ot...more
Mr. and Mrs. Bo Jo Jones is a story of Bo Jo, big star football player, and July, his highschool sweetheart. When Bo Jo and July find out she's pregnant they are pretty shocked and July is ashamed since she always looked down on the girls that did things with boys like that. So they decide to go get married, since they really have no other options (back in the day and all). As they learn the ups and downs of marriage and parenthood they are forced to lose a lot of friends and their entire social...more
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July Jones is just a regular 16 year old girl with a Boyfriend named Bo Jo (Boswell Johnson). As any other girl July is the jealous type when it comes to Bo Jo's old flame hanging around. That's when it happens, she goes to far and gets pregnant. The whole book is about them trying to take responsibility--doing the only thing they think possible which is to get married. Their parents oddly enough oppose the whole way through until they find out there is no going back.
It's a great book and you s...more
It's a great book and you s...more
After someone spikes the champagne prom night, Bo Jo and July end up pregnant. They get married, break the news to their parents, and try to live together, as they come to realize they really don't know each other. And while they thought they loved each other, they didn't know what real love was. Yet.
I can still why this book caused such a stir when it was published back in 1968. It was really thought-provoking and I wondered if it would be a good book to assign teens to read, because it could s...more
I can still why this book caused such a stir when it was published back in 1968. It was really thought-provoking and I wondered if it would be a good book to assign teens to read, because it could s...more
After reading The Best Thing by Margo Lanagan, I was led to this book. It had good reviews. Wish I could rave about this, too. But though I raced through its pages without stopping to sleep like a normal person in normal hours, it's too sad and somber for my tastes. If written in contemporary times, I imagine the editors would have told Miss Head to add some humor here and there...
But yeah, this is something librarians would be proud of (as they had been for the last forty or so years). A reali...more
But yeah, this is something librarians would be proud of (as they had been for the last forty or so years). A reali...more
The novel is told from July's perspective as she describes her efforts to become a housewife to Bo Jo, who has quit school to work at the bank July's father owns.The night they get married, July's parents have a couple over. They bring their son Horace, and he and July become pen pals. July like the letterss, but doesn't realize Horace is falling in love with her, and he doesn't know that July is married.
This young adult novel may seem a little dated but I really enjoyed it. It didnt go into any...more
This young adult novel may seem a little dated but I really enjoyed it. It didnt go into any...more
Dear, Reader
In the book i am reading now called Mr. and Mrs. Bo Jo Jones there is a lot going on with Bo Jo and July for example right now July is pregnant and her and Bo Jo don't know what to do at this point because they know how there parents are going to react for example Bo Jo parents are going to be very disappointed in him because they expect him to be something big in life and they want him to succeed in the things he wants to do they want him to go to college and study and July's pare...more
In the book i am reading now called Mr. and Mrs. Bo Jo Jones there is a lot going on with Bo Jo and July for example right now July is pregnant and her and Bo Jo don't know what to do at this point because they know how there parents are going to react for example Bo Jo parents are going to be very disappointed in him because they expect him to be something big in life and they want him to succeed in the things he wants to do they want him to go to college and study and July's pare...more
This is the story of what happens when prom night doesn't turn out exactly as planned. Real life means that sometimes when you "go to far" you get pregnant. What happens then? When you are only 16 and you have a baby on the way? Well, you get married. Turns out there are a lot things that nobody really prepares you for when you are sixteen. Like what do you do all day when your "husband" is at work, and you have no homework because, well, you can't go to school if you are pregnant.
This is a ver...more
This is a ver...more
July is sixteen when she finds out she is pregnant with Bo Jo Jones's child. they decide together that the best thing to do is to get married. life gets a lot more difficult for them when they drop out of school and Bo Jo has to get a job. family relations are stressed and friendships are strained. even though they are married, July and Bo Jo are drifting apart. it is the life of two teenagers forced into an adult life.
this book really made me grateful for my own personal decisions in my life....more
this book really made me grateful for my own personal decisions in my life....more
Simply state Mr. and Mrs. Bo Jo Jones concerns a teenaged couple in trouble. Head presents the emotions, feelings, and concerns of this couple from their point of view, not their parents who are suffering from the hurt inflicted upon them, nor from that of society, which is already prepared to pass judgment. The main characters are very well developed. Both go through a forced growing up period that is adequately portrayed. Head has taken a serious problem and handled it very beautiful and taste...more
This book was written in the 60’s, but retains its timeliness. Set in the 50’s, the book tells the story of teens (16 and 17 years old) caught in the eternal trap--the girl is pregnant, and they “have to” get married. The consequences of their actions reverberate through their families, which are totally dissimilar, and totally change their lives and aspirations. Their very human reactions to all of the problems involved make the novel very real for most readers. Positive. Well worth reading for...more
This is Dated with a major capital-D. So much so that I have trouble imagining a 21st-century teenager actually reading it. About two teenagers in 1967 who *have* to get married, and the trials and tribulations thereof. Actually quite well-written with good characters and narrative voice, but the assumptions therein get pretty painful. How did anyone ever think that forcing kids to get married and drop out of school and all that would be good for *anyone*? Still, I kinda liked the ending......
[f...more
[f...more
Although some might call problem novels worthwhile to read, since they are uplifting, believable, and realistic, I firmly disagree using Ann Head’s novel, Mr and Mrs Bo Jo Jones as evidence. One point in Head’s favor is that it does deal with specific issues that current teens during the 1960’s faced, such as pre-marital sex leading to teenage pregnancy and the social issues that relate: school completion, marriage, divorce, and abortion. Even though this novel exists as a good example of early...more
I remember reading this when I was sixteen in the bathroom with the light on so I wouldn't disturb the rest of the house. I read it in one sitting for about two hours. Loved it. I loved how Bo Jo and July start out as two kids who like each other to two kids who had to get married. It seemed so real and I truly had to buy a couple of copies of this book because I'd read it so much that the pages started falling apart.
One I'd definitely recommend to read.
One I'd definitely recommend to read.
I read this book when I was in the 7th or 8th grade. I remember ordering it from the Scholastic Book Order Form and counting down the days til it got here. I LOVED this book! They even made a movie based on this book that I think they used as an ABC Afterschool Special. I was reading Yellow Brick Roads and saw this book mentioned. It brought back such fond memories of that time in my life. I couldn't believe I had forgotten about this book!
This is a nice tale about a couple of teenagers, set in the late fifties or early sixties, that get pregnant and decide marriage is the best answer. The topic is one that addresses our teens issues with sex and leaving home. But, some of the jargon and situations are out of date, and may not connect with teens in the 21st century. It's a good book for bringing to the surface some pro-life options; but a tough topic for a high school classroom.
A heart-warming rendition of a young couple who chooses marriage when faced with an unexpected pregnancy while in high school. Difficulties of juggling family relationships, financial difficulties, and continuing a relationship with each other were beautifully outlined. I found myself emotionally connecting both with the young couple trying to make the best out of a complicated situation, and with the parents who struggle with their disappointment of watching the dreams for their children vanish...more
It's been a few years since I've read this book, but the fact that it is still clear in my mind as a great read warrants four stars. I read this book twice--the first time at the suggestion of my mother, the second because I liked it so much the first time. The narration is terrific and I loved how the end is not what you'd suspect. I must however give a thumbs down the corny cover and plot synopsis on the reprinting.
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Oct 23, 2011 12:19am