What do you think?
Rate this book
Dinny Gordon #3
Dinny Gordon Junior
Dinny Gordon's junior year in high school is unusually filled with problems. Feeling unready to go steady, Dinny struggles with her feelings for Curt and her attraction to Tom. Meanwhile, she takes a job but loses it due to a shoplifting incident. Dinny, then, confronts prejudice among her friends when a Jewish family moves into the neighborhood. A job at the public library is one of the best aspects of her junior year.... until she attends a college lecture that fuels her love of ancient history. And it doesn't hurt that Brad Kenyon is standing by with a helping hand...
- GenresYoung AdultFiction
167 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
About the author
Anne Emery
47 books34 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Anne Emery was born Anne Eleanor McGuigan, in Fargo, North Dakota, and moved to Evanston, Illinois, when she was nine years old. Miss McGuigan attended Evanston Township High School and Northwestern University. Following her graduation from college, her father, a university professor, took the family of five children abroad for a year, where they visited his birthplace in Northern Ireland, as well as the British Isles, France, Switzerland, and Italy. Miss McGuigan spent nine months studying at the University of Grenoble in France. She taught seventh and eighth grades for four years in the Evanston Schools, and fourth and fifth grades for six more years after her marriage to John Emery. She retired from teaching to care for her husband and five children, Mary, Kate, Joan, Robert, and Martha.
Anne Emery wrote books and short stories for teen girls throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Her understanding of the lives of teenaged girls creates believable stories and characters that are readable and re-readable!
Anne Emery was born Anne Eleanor McGuigan, in Fargo, North Dakota, and moved to Evanston, Illinois, when she was nine years old. Miss McGuigan attended Evanston Township High School and Northwestern University. Following her graduation from college, her father, a university professor, took the family of five children abroad for a year, where they visited his birthplace in Northern Ireland, as well as the British Isles, France, Switzerland, and Italy. Miss McGuigan spent nine months studying at the University of Grenoble in France. She taught seventh and eighth grades for four years in the Evanston Schools, and fourth and fifth grades for six more years after her marriage to John Emery. She retired from teaching to care for her husband and five children, Mary, Kate, Joan, Robert, and Martha.
Anne Emery wrote books and short stories for teen girls throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Her understanding of the lives of teenaged girls creates believable stories and characters that are readable and re-readable!
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
March 19, 2015
4.5 STARS
A strong installment in this excellent series. I feel that these are really a step above most books in the "malt shop" genre because Dinny is a heroine of such depth. Emery allows her to dream beyond high school drama and boys without discounting the very real effect those things can have on the life of a sixteen year old girl. Dinny holds fast to her dream of becoming an archaeologist and of earning money to travel to see ancient sites in Greece and Rome when she graduates, and she works hard to get there. Her friendships take on new depths and complexities when a Jewish family moves to town. Dinny sees no reason to be prejudiced and finds Debby and Michael Goldman to be delightful, intelligent new additions to the high school crowd--but some of her friends feel differently. I thought this was all handled with great sensitivity and realism and, again, Emery impressed me bringing this added depth to a teen romance of the early '60s.
A strong installment in this excellent series. I feel that these are really a step above most books in the "malt shop" genre because Dinny is a heroine of such depth. Emery allows her to dream beyond high school drama and boys without discounting the very real effect those things can have on the life of a sixteen year old girl. Dinny holds fast to her dream of becoming an archaeologist and of earning money to travel to see ancient sites in Greece and Rome when she graduates, and she works hard to get there. Her friendships take on new depths and complexities when a Jewish family moves to town. Dinny sees no reason to be prejudiced and finds Debby and Michael Goldman to be delightful, intelligent new additions to the high school crowd--but some of her friends feel differently. I thought this was all handled with great sensitivity and realism and, again, Emery impressed me bringing this added depth to a teen romance of the early '60s.
December 13, 2010
Dinny Gordon's journey through her junior year is fraught with joy and tribulation. Dinny is unjustly fired from Harlech's Variety Store for reporting a shoplifting. Even though Curt and Dinny agree to date others, Curt unfriends her when she accepts a date with Tom. Dinny's friends, Mike and Debby, are excluded from Sue's formal country club dance because they are Jewish. Debby is a good friend of Debby's and this level of prejudice is disturbing.
Dinny grows deeper into her archaeology interest and counsels a troubled adolescent. The in-dept subject matter makes the plot of this short novel more interesting..my favorite book of the Dinny Gordon series.
Dinny grows deeper into her archaeology interest and counsels a troubled adolescent. The in-dept subject matter makes the plot of this short novel more interesting..my favorite book of the Dinny Gordon series.
November 30, 2014
For the third book in the series, Dinny continues to date Curt and begins to wonder if she is falling in love with him. However, some new people move into town and prejudice rears its ugly head. Dinny is presented with an ethical dilemma. Anne Emery does a wonderful job of handling this subject and makes Dinny believable in her struggle between head and heart.
May 25, 2026
3.5*
This book could easily be renamed: Dinny Gordon, Social Justice (lol). While I missed Dinny's foray into academics, a feature of the first book, I appreciated following her as she navigated social issues, such as delinquency (Joe Magill), neglectful parenting, and prejudice. As a teacher, I found Joe Magill's parents were so recognizable that it made the book feel super relevant. In that way, it was a little sad; the more things change, the more they stay the same.
As the book progressed, Emery laid on the issue of prejudice quite thick -- not in an unbelievable way; rather, it made me think about what was going on in the Midwest during the Sixties. I teach Night by Elie Wiesel in my 9th Grade English Literature class, and one thing I have to stress to students of today is how common it was in America for people to be skeptical of the Holocaust. This book, DG, Junior, is a great artifact for highlighting attitudes that would likely surprise students today. Emery is conscientious in complicating Dinny with regard to her acceptance of the Goldmans. Her quiet envy of Debby counters her more vocal admiration of Mike. It's a wise and realistic touch.
Aside from that, I love Dinny working in the library -- the library is Dinny's happy place. It certainly seems to fit her character more than babysitting, and yet the breakthrough she has with Joe Magill sort of draws on that earlier work too.
Finally, Curt Beauregard...he was the only part that was hardest to buy. I mean...the guy's a jerk, and I wish there were more scenes showing Dinny and Curt really connecting to strengthen the difficulty she has at the end. But then again, maybe she was just fooling herself, and that's the point. But him wanting to monopolize her time from the start never jived with her principles, so I was just wondering how she found herself on the verge of falling in love with him prior to his prejudice being exposed. Sure, she can miss the guy...but...why, tho? There was no talk of Latin Club activities, no fun conversations -- not even when they're back together. So, I read waiting for the other shoe to drop.
All in all, interesting. And at about 160 pages, definitely worth the read.
This book could easily be renamed: Dinny Gordon, Social Justice (lol). While I missed Dinny's foray into academics, a feature of the first book, I appreciated following her as she navigated social issues, such as delinquency (Joe Magill), neglectful parenting, and prejudice. As a teacher, I found Joe Magill's parents were so recognizable that it made the book feel super relevant. In that way, it was a little sad; the more things change, the more they stay the same.
As the book progressed, Emery laid on the issue of prejudice quite thick -- not in an unbelievable way; rather, it made me think about what was going on in the Midwest during the Sixties. I teach Night by Elie Wiesel in my 9th Grade English Literature class, and one thing I have to stress to students of today is how common it was in America for people to be skeptical of the Holocaust. This book, DG, Junior, is a great artifact for highlighting attitudes that would likely surprise students today. Emery is conscientious in complicating Dinny with regard to her acceptance of the Goldmans. Her quiet envy of Debby counters her more vocal admiration of Mike. It's a wise and realistic touch.
Aside from that, I love Dinny working in the library -- the library is Dinny's happy place. It certainly seems to fit her character more than babysitting, and yet the breakthrough she has with Joe Magill sort of draws on that earlier work too.
Finally, Curt Beauregard...he was the only part that was hardest to buy. I mean...the guy's a jerk, and I wish there were more scenes showing Dinny and Curt really connecting to strengthen the difficulty she has at the end. But then again, maybe she was just fooling herself, and that's the point. But him wanting to monopolize her time from the start never jived with her principles, so I was just wondering how she found herself on the verge of falling in love with him prior to his prejudice being exposed. Sure, she can miss the guy...but...why, tho? There was no talk of Latin Club activities, no fun conversations -- not even when they're back together. So, I read waiting for the other shoe to drop.
All in all, interesting. And at about 160 pages, definitely worth the read.
March 7, 2021
A thoroughly enjoyable vintage YA novel/series that has aged well. Dinny is intelligent and independent. Though she is attractive but not beautiful like her sister, she is immensely popular and respected by her friends for her intelligence and drive. Unlike many teen protagonists of the '60s, she is not eager to go steady, is very studious and goal-oriented, and is popular and admired by her male friends. In this novel she encounters anti-Semitism when a Jewish family moves into the neighborhood and their two teenagers attend her school. Dinny is appalled at the attitude of a couple of her friends, befriends Mike and Debby, and does everything she can to urge acceptance. She gets one step closer to her goal of going to Europe after graduation with a new job and a new summer program at the University of Chicago. One more book in the series to go--I will hate to see it end!
April 9, 2007
My all-time favorite young adult chick-lit series. It was already old when I read it as a high student in the 1970s, but it still seemed relevant to me. Dinny had the perfect balance between social grace and brainy nerdiness. I wanted to be her.
December 20, 2010
Hmm. Reading about the Jewish prejudice was really interesting. Didactic and frustrating at times, but very interesting. I was sad to not like Curt anymore, but Tom and Brad were great. I liked seeing Melinda start to mature and grow a spine, and Mike really was great for her. I never got a handle on Debby - she seemed great, and Dinny liked her a lot, except when she didn't. That especially came up in the next book, and didn't seem to match this plot much at all.
November 3, 2017
I liked how this book dealt with the difficult topic of prejudice. I thought it was handled very well.
I'm so glad Dinny broke up with the jerkbag Curt. She'll hopefully end up with Tom or Brad now. :)
4 stars out of 5.
I'm so glad Dinny broke up with the jerkbag Curt. She'll hopefully end up with Tom or Brad now. :)
4 stars out of 5.
September 28, 2025
Some small (doesn’t dial lose ending or much about plot) spoilers:
This book should be five stars, because it tackles bigotry, and anti-semitism, in particular. However some of the characters’ points of view (the ones who aren’t supposed to be the most bigoted, or even bigoted at all on this issue) and/or quotes, are difficult to read. One of them is basically “She has just as right to be anti-Semitic as you do to dislike bigotry.” (Note: this is not an actual quote but my way of paraphrasing what I felt was said). There is an awful lot of apologist type behavior, or even just outright prejudice. I kept wondering why she continued to have close relationships with some of the clearly bigoted kids. There’s also a line in there that’s ridiculous, about how one guy she likes has no prejudices whatsoever about any person. We all have some prejudice, even if it’s minimal and not about race or ethnicity. That line acted as if the character being talked about was even better than humans, who are fallible but still can be really good people. The topic was relevant then and still is, but the behavior from people the author wants us to like, like family, ranges from anti-semitism apologists (father) to outright bigotry (friends, etc.). It’s understandable that some of the parts that are hard to read have to be there for context, but Dinny and other otherwise likable people’s response to it is the harder part. There is way too much of an “Oh, well, if we don’t talk about it, the problem disappears,” attitude, and there’s too little of a rejection of prejudice by Dinny and others. Not once does the author really explore the perspectives of the victims; although it is talked about to some extent, we don’t know if the bigotry caused depression, tears, or other reactions—we only know one time something we’re told (and it seems unlikely that the kids are just “used to” the discrimination and pretty much fine with it, as Mike’s reaction one time indicates that he’s been holding in a lot of emotions). Getting to know or wanting to know about Judaism is barely discussed, and even then, the context is that the Jewish kids want to talk about it, not that there’s other interest.
Good on the author to introduce the topic, but it was handled in a way that left me dissatisfied.
This book should be five stars, because it tackles bigotry, and anti-semitism, in particular. However some of the characters’ points of view (the ones who aren’t supposed to be the most bigoted, or even bigoted at all on this issue) and/or quotes, are difficult to read. One of them is basically “She has just as right to be anti-Semitic as you do to dislike bigotry.” (Note: this is not an actual quote but my way of paraphrasing what I felt was said). There is an awful lot of apologist type behavior, or even just outright prejudice. I kept wondering why she continued to have close relationships with some of the clearly bigoted kids. There’s also a line in there that’s ridiculous, about how one guy she likes has no prejudices whatsoever about any person. We all have some prejudice, even if it’s minimal and not about race or ethnicity. That line acted as if the character being talked about was even better than humans, who are fallible but still can be really good people. The topic was relevant then and still is, but the behavior from people the author wants us to like, like family, ranges from anti-semitism apologists (father) to outright bigotry (friends, etc.). It’s understandable that some of the parts that are hard to read have to be there for context, but Dinny and other otherwise likable people’s response to it is the harder part. There is way too much of an “Oh, well, if we don’t talk about it, the problem disappears,” attitude, and there’s too little of a rejection of prejudice by Dinny and others. Not once does the author really explore the perspectives of the victims; although it is talked about to some extent, we don’t know if the bigotry caused depression, tears, or other reactions—we only know one time something we’re told (and it seems unlikely that the kids are just “used to” the discrimination and pretty much fine with it, as Mike’s reaction one time indicates that he’s been holding in a lot of emotions). Getting to know or wanting to know about Judaism is barely discussed, and even then, the context is that the Jewish kids want to talk about it, not that there’s other interest.
Good on the author to introduce the topic, but it was handled in a way that left me dissatisfied.
April 25, 2020
An old favorite
November 17, 2015
I read these while working as a library aid in my junior high. It was the literary equivalent of watching an Annette Funicello movie set in the 50s and 60s. They felt super old fashioned, but entertaining, at the time. I'm sure they'd seem quite gender regressive if I re-read today.
June 7, 2018
The third book in the Dinny Gordon series. Good, old-fashioned story about a teenage girl growing up. While the setting is dated, the issues covered are timeless. This book tackles some very serious issues. Modern girls could learn a lot from Dinny.
December 11, 2015
Re-read of a childhood favorite. Would maintain the 4-star rating.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews