What do you think?
Katie Rose and Stacy Belford #5
Angel In Heavy Shoes
Rare Book
Paperback
First published June 1, 1968
About the author
Lenora Mattingly Weber
38 books56 followersLenora Mattingly, though born in Missouri, lived most of her life in Denver, Colorado. In 1916 she married Albert Herman Weber and was the mother of six children.
Weber's first book, Wind on the Prairie, was published in 1929. From 1930 through 1962 she wrote short stories for magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post, McCall's, and Good Housekeeping. Her last book was published posthumously in 1972.
Lenora Mattingly Weber’s favorite topics included the Denver area, horses, and teenage girls. In 1943 the first Beany Malone book, Meet the Malones, was published. Beany Malone became Weber's most well-known creation, featured in 14 books and appearing as a minor character in the Katie Rose Belford and Stacy Belford series.
Weber's first book, Wind on the Prairie, was published in 1929. From 1930 through 1962 she wrote short stories for magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post, McCall's, and Good Housekeeping. Her last book was published posthumously in 1972.
Lenora Mattingly Weber’s favorite topics included the Denver area, horses, and teenage girls. In 1943 the first Beany Malone book, Meet the Malones, was published. Beany Malone became Weber's most well-known creation, featured in 14 books and appearing as a minor character in the Katie Rose Belford and Stacy Belford series.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 10, 2012
This story is a little different than the Lenora Mattingly Weber books I've read in that it is divided into four sections—each on a consecutive day of the week from Wednesday to Saturday. It is also told from multiple perspectives (Katie Rose, Stacy, and Ben). The format flows very well and almost reads like a book-length short story. I enjoyed it!
As far as the plot goes, there are a lot of repetitive themes that Weber fans are sure to pick up on. For example, how Stacy is described as having a lot of “bounce to the ounce” reminds me a lot of "old bubble and bounce" Mary Fred (5). Another thing—I just noticed with this book that the older sisters in both series (the Beany Malone books and the Katie Rose/Stacy Belford books) have compound names (Mary Fred and Katie Rose) and the younger sisters both have five letter names ending in ‘y’ (Beany and Stacy). Although I think Katie Rose is more Beany-like than Mary Fred-ish. This book reminds me a lot of Beany’s senior year, how she wanted to be remembered for something special, just like Katie Rose does. There is also the theme of the criminals--their motives and past, whether they can be reformed, etc.--that seems to pop up a lot in Weber's books. It's just one of the things that I think sets these books apart from many of their contemporaries. They are often fluffy, but they deal with some real things and issues. Holly is a bit of a Garnet parallel, if you're familiar with the Beany books. It's nice to see Ben ditch her sooner than Johnny ditched Garnet, though!
I thought Stacy handled the issue with Bruce really well. It's doesn't work to go out with someone who doesn't let you be yourself. I also enjoyed the introduction of Claire and the scenes with Katie Rose at St. Jude's. It's fun to explore that world a bit more and I enjoyed how the Catholic school presence was portrayed.
One of my few problems with this book--and the series in general--is that many characters are much too casual with throwing around God's name as a profanity. A few other instances of swearing also creep in, but it's still PG material.
P.S. Was anyone else disturbed that Katie Rose gave Sidewinder cocoa? Isn't chocolate poisonous to dogs?
As far as the plot goes, there are a lot of repetitive themes that Weber fans are sure to pick up on. For example, how Stacy is described as having a lot of “bounce to the ounce” reminds me a lot of "old bubble and bounce" Mary Fred (5). Another thing—I just noticed with this book that the older sisters in both series (the Beany Malone books and the Katie Rose/Stacy Belford books) have compound names (Mary Fred and Katie Rose) and the younger sisters both have five letter names ending in ‘y’ (Beany and Stacy). Although I think Katie Rose is more Beany-like than Mary Fred-ish. This book reminds me a lot of Beany’s senior year, how she wanted to be remembered for something special, just like Katie Rose does. There is also the theme of the criminals--their motives and past, whether they can be reformed, etc.--that seems to pop up a lot in Weber's books. It's just one of the things that I think sets these books apart from many of their contemporaries. They are often fluffy, but they deal with some real things and issues. Holly is a bit of a Garnet parallel, if you're familiar with the Beany books. It's nice to see Ben ditch her sooner than Johnny ditched Garnet, though!
I thought Stacy handled the issue with Bruce really well. It's doesn't work to go out with someone who doesn't let you be yourself. I also enjoyed the introduction of Claire and the scenes with Katie Rose at St. Jude's. It's fun to explore that world a bit more and I enjoyed how the Catholic school presence was portrayed.
One of my few problems with this book--and the series in general--is that many characters are much too casual with throwing around God's name as a profanity. A few other instances of swearing also creep in, but it's still PG material.
P.S. Was anyone else disturbed that Katie Rose gave Sidewinder cocoa? Isn't chocolate poisonous to dogs?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 13, 2007
The three-narrator gimmick works pretty well here, and the story is as good as ever--except the Ben/cheap carhop angle, which was so much better the first time around in A BRIGHT STAR FALLS.
March 9, 2011
Cute malt shop story. Actually, its better than that. The characters have layers to them, and real problems and motivations. Good message at the end.
December 28, 2019
This is on of my comfort books - though it's not my favorite in the series. It's a transition book between the Katie Rose and the Stacy Bedford books. It's also very short and one subplot is identical to the Garnet Storm / Johnny Malone subplot in A Bright Star Falls.
August 30, 2022
In a span of 4 days, the oldest 3 Belfords all have unexpected experiences. Stacy's story is the strongest, while Katie Rose's is . . . not. A quick read.
July 25, 2025
Hard topics
But done in a way that makes you relate to each teenager in the book. Excellent storytelling as always, with the skill of Weber.
But done in a way that makes you relate to each teenager in the book. Excellent storytelling as always, with the skill of Weber.
May 17, 2016
This is not my favorite of the Katie Rose collection, but it was a good one. I didn't put it down once I picked it up it brought back lots of memories and I truly enjoy reading them now that I am old enough to know of some of the places they are talking about in the books.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews