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“The fifties – they seem to have taken place on a sunny afternoon that asked nothing of you except a drifting belief in the moment and its power to satisfy.”

~Elizabeth Hardwick

If you haven’t already, I would recommend reading my post titled Book Review #15: “The One and Only: A Maryellen Classic” before diving into this one.

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Maryellen’s story continues as she prepares to celebrate her tenth birthday in 1955.

Three weeks before her birthday, a historic day emerges. Around the world, it’s broadcast that Dr. Jonas Salk has perfected a safe and effective vaccine for polio.

This is significant, since it was mentioned previously that Maryellen suffered from the illness during the Polio Epidemic of 1952. Fortunately, she only has two long-lasting effects – One slightly weaker leg and sensitive lungs.

As spring begins to change into summer, Maryellen experiences a bit of fame and those effects, both good and bad. She learns several lessons along the way, about fame, attention, bragging, and friendship.

Shortly before summer vacation starts, Dad brings home a silver spaceship of a surprise – The 1955 Airstream trailer. The whole family goes West and explores much of the American landscape. Maryellen gets caught in the middle of gathering ideas for a science contest, the dog getting loose, figuring out whether or not her sister Joan really wants to get married, and more.

One of Maryellen’s excellent traits is coming up with great, practical ideas, especially in times of adversity. Because of this, she’s able to help her mother, father, sister Joan, and unites her girl friends and boy friends together to form an amazing science contest team.

The two stories blend very well together. They transported me from my home in Virginia straight to Daytona Beach, the Alamo, Old Faithful, and back to Daytona Beach. I could visualize everything, and almost smell certain smells.

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In the future, I plan to explore the two other books in the Maryellen collection: The Sky’s The Limit: My Journey with Maryellen (Choose-your-own-adventure), and The Finders-Keepers Rule (Historical Character Mystery).

4 1/2 out of 5 stars.

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

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“I’m drawn to the 1950s for lots of reasons – everything from the fashion to the increasing sense of freedom and modernity that builds throughout the decade.”

~Sara Sheridan

I couldn’t agree more with Sara’s quote above.

I was so excited when Maryellen Larkin was announced as the first BeForever exclusive character in the spring of 2015. I loved the cover of this book immediately. Her outfit is on point, and the stories were set in Florida. Sign me up!

I was slightly disappointed when I learned the setting was Daytona Beach (I have significant bias toward Miami, and the Gulf Coast – St. Petersburg, etc.), but nonetheless, I knew I wanted to read the books.

As mentioned in my book reviews about Melody Ellison recently, I’m deeply attracted to the time period of the 20th century between The Great Depression and the end of the 1970s.

Maryellen’s first book immerses you in a world where Maryellen, or Ellie, is trying to find her place in a huge family – One of six children!

That wasn’t unusual in the 1950s, which the author explains brilliantly at the end of the book, with the time of optimism, a stronger economy, and the baby boom.

Although the book carries quite a sunny disposition throughout, there’s always some conflict or issues sprinkled in. This one addresses the ending of World War II, the Cold War, and scenarios around friendship, bullying, and prejudice.

Maryellen’s character had me laughing, as well as shaking my head. Being stuck in the middle between two older sisters and then a younger sister and two younger brothers, it’s natural she would feel a bit underappreciated and vying for her parents’ attention and being in good graces with her siblings. As an only child, this is something that I did not have to deal with growing up!

Despite several missteps and misadventures along the way, Maryellen is bright, determined, and compassionate. There’s a new girl at the start of school, and Maryellen decides to be the bigger person and show compassion toward her, when her other friends tend to be stuck in the past.

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The first story wraps up around Christmastime, which had a strange effect on me. It was a good ending, but closing the book made my mind instantly flood with memories.

I thought of my childhood Christmases that were divided between Virginia and Florida.

I thought of the times and memories with my grandparents.

My dad’s dad is still alive, still doing well at 90. I want to go visit him again, very soon.

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So many memories.

I’m very excited to start reading volume 2 – The sneak peek promises several surprises!

4 1/2 out of 5 stars.

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂

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“The difference between a dreamer and a visionary is that a dreamer has his eyes closed and a visionary has his eyes open.

~Martin Luther King, Jr., August 28, 1963

If you haven’t already, I would recommend reading my post titled Book Review #13: “No Ordinary Sound: A Melody Classic” before diving into this review.

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Melody’s story continues just as the New Year of 1964 is rung in.

Along the way, she tries to answer her pastor’s “Challenge to Change” as a 10-year-old would. She decides on fixing up the neighborhood playground. With the help of her friends, family, and community, Melody learns many lessons throughout the winter, spring, and summer.

While Melody learns about leadership and community involvement in Detroit, the story also follows the oldest sister, Yvonne, in the South, plus a family trip to Birmingham, Alabama. The rich history of the year 1964 is interwoven – The passage of the Civil Rights Act, Freedom Summer, and the disappearance of  civil rights workers James Chaney,  Andrew Goodman, and Michael “Mickey” Schwerner.

It was a good mix of tragedy and triumph in the book. Like the first volume, once I started reading, I couldn’t stop!

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I originally wasn’t planning on buying, or reading, the third volume. The BeForever series has the two classic volumes, and the third is designed to be a “choose-your-own-adventure” style read.

However, after reading the “sneak peek” at the end of volume 2, I’m definitely interested! It sounds like a great adventure – No pun intended.

Plus, one of the characters is named “Ms. Stricker,” which I think is awesome!

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I’ll leave you with one other quote that struck me.

“As far as I am concerned, freedom summer never really ended.”

~Victoria Gray Adams

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4 1/2 out of 5 stars.

Until the next headline, Laura Beth 🙂