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CarlyTown>The Malt Shop>Janet Lambert
Janet Lambert predates the fifties teen romance novel by a few years; her first novel was published in 1941. With war as a dramatic background, her two main series focus on two sprawling army families (the Jordans and the Parrishes) who repeatedly and complicatedly intertwine through marriage. In addition to the series listed below, Lambert wrote many other books, including a few more series, but the ones below are her very best.
The Penny Parrish series
Star-Spangled Summer (1941)
Carrol Houghton, charming, lonely daughter of a wealthy eatern business man goes to visit her friend Penny Parrish at Fort Arden in Kansas. Never has Carrol enjoyed herself so! She cannot believe there actually are parents like Major and Mrs. Parrish.
Swiftly, from one gay diversion to another, moves this appealing story. There is a scavenger hunt, a junior hop, a picnic, and best of all a horse show that brings special thrills to the Parrish family. Then Penny's great "treat" for Carrol--a visit from no less perosn than the austere Mr. Houghton himself--threatens to spoil everything, but actually adds the crowning touch to this truly star-spangled summer.
A happy, wholesome story, full of high excitement, gaiety, and keen humor. The girls are delightful, the young men gallant--West Point bound. Girls, and boys too, in their early teens are certain to find this tale of modern American army life absorbingly entertaining. (inside flap)
Dreams of Glory (1942)
Here again is another story of the adventures of the irrepressible Penny Parrish and her delightful family.
By one of those happy accidents best known to fiction, Major Parrish has been transferred from Fort Arden, Kansas, to West Point, where all concerned can keep an eye on David, the family's cadet. And happily, Penny's friend Carrol Houghton lives in an enormous barn of a place not far up the Hudson from the Point. So it is not surprising that the two girls are together constantly.
There's excitement from the very beginning when the Parrishes visit the Houghtons at their New York penthouse, and attend the Army-Notre Dame football game. Penny--who can get herself into more jams than anyone else--gets lost in the crowd, and by chance meets a famous actress. This adventure definitely decides Penny on a career in the theatre. And it does seem that this time Penny's mind is really made up!
There is near tragedy for Penny's brother David, which luckily ends happily. But besides that, the winter for Penny is a delicious whirl of hops at the Point, a trip to Florida with the Houghtons, and at last June week--and romance.
DREAMS OF GLORY is a delightful continuation of Penny Parrish's STAR-SPANGLED SUMMER adventures, and a must for her old friends and new readers. (inside flap)
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Glory Be (1943)
In Glory Be! Penny and her friend Carrol encounter more serious grown-up problems, but they never lose any of their charm, wit, and sense of excitement with life.
The story opens with Penny's eighteenth birthday party, which is followed by a shopping trip into New York with Carrol. The carefree time of the girls is interrupted, however, by the tragedy of Pearl Harbor. From that fateful day, events move fast for the Parrish and Houghton families. The lives of the girls are suddenly transformed and they need all the character and courage they have built up to face the uncertainties and heartbreaks that war brings. With unique understanding of a young girl's heart, Janet Lambert shows how the girls meet tragedy and come through with a deeper maturity.
The book leaves Penny still certain that the theater will offer her the life she wants, and one feels that she is probably headed for stardom in spite of other interests involving orange blossoms and many yards of tulle. (inside flap)
Up Goes the Curtain (1946)
No young girl who ever has longed to know the mystery of the world behind the footlights will be able to put down this new story about Penny Parrish and her first exciting experiences on Broadway.
After working hard all summer in a stock company, Penny finds herself in the cast of the show, The Robin's Nest, due to open on Broadway. There she meets Josh Macdonald, the blunt, weary-looking stage manager, who takes a keen interest in her success as an actress--although he is surprisingly indifferent to her as an attractive young girl!
Making a flying trip home between rehearsals, Penny meets an earlier admirer, Lieutenant Terry Hayes. Terry introduces her to a very beautiful young woman, also on her way to Fort Knox. Penny immediately distrusts her, and a thrilling spy hunt develops.
As the story progresses, Penny learns the answers to all the things a stage-struck girl wants to know--what actors are like after working hours, how to thwart someone who is trying steal your best scenes, how feels to wait for the curtain to go up on opening night.
How it all ends, how Penny meets someone who at last is able to set her daydreaming, how once more she has a choice to make--all this will hold you to the last fascinating page. For in UP GOES THE CURTAIN, as in all Janet Lambert's books, laughter, romance and suspense abound in an absorbing story of gay, wide-awake young moderns. (inside flap)
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Practically Perfect (1947)
Now Penny Parrish must make a choice. Who will it be? Is she going to marry Michael Drayton? Or will it be handsome Terry Hayes? Or how about Josh Macdonald, her manager? In this book we find Penny, again in the theater, making more and more friends, deciding against Hollywood, and dividing her time busily between the family home on Governors Island, where her father is in command, and her sister-in-law Carrol's apartment in New York.
David, her brother, returns from overseas to be introduced to his new little son, young Davy. Soon after, Carrol and David invest in a farm; and Penny finds herself torn between love of the country and a passionate devotion to her work. There's Gladstone, the house that would fulfill all her dreams of a home of her own, away from the bustle and noise of New York. But then there is Penny's first love--the theater with its bright lights and the excitement of opening night. And there is Josh to guide her on the way to stardom.
As you can see, life at twenty-one for Penny is certainly filled with problems, both big and little. All in all, these questions are happily answered in the end, however, which will make things practically perfect for both Penny and her readers. (inside flap)
The Reluctant Heart
Penny Parrish, glamourous, successful young Broadway star, didn't want the part! Even though Josh, her husband-manager, had undertaken to produce the play with her in the leading role, still Penny preferred the country and the two babies. Let Neda, beautiful little schemer that she was, play the part; she, Penny, was happily safe in her love, her home, her children--and there she would stay.
That she was being selfish never entered her pretty head. That Josh missed the gay, enthusiastic, ambitious young actress he had married five years earlier just never occurred to Penny until it was almost too late.
What roughly awakened her to danger, what swept the play to success makes such fascinating reading that Janet Lambert's older group of readers will find THE RELUCTANT HEART especially interesting. (inside flap)
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The Tippy Parrish series
Miss Tippy (1948)
The Parrishes again, and this time Tippy, "going on" sixteen just as Penny was in Star-Spangled Summer, the book which opened that series. As always in the Parrish clan, many things happen at once: Tippy sends out invitations for a birthday dance on Governors Island; Colonel Parrish is ordered to Germany; and suddenly tragedy stalks into the gay Parrish household.
For a long time Tippy has been smarting under the failure of Trudy, the beloved colored cook, to call her "Miss Tippy." Trudy is all-wise, all-knowing. When Tippy ceases to be a headstrong, teasing, little flitterfly, says Trudy, and takes on a bit of sorely lacking dignity, she will be called "Miss Tippy," but not until then.
Tippy's earnest efforst are both touching and humorous. Tragedy pulls her up short--and Miss Tippy emerges. Sunshine comes again as it always does to the Parrishes. "Miss Tippy" is the darling of them all. (inside flap)
Little Miss Atlas (1949)
By all the rules Tippy Parrish should have been having a perfectly marvelous time. Here she was, in a beautiful little village in the Bavarian Alps where her father, Colonel Parrish was stationed; she had a handsome young American lieutenant paying her flattering attention; she danced and skied and skated the days away. But Tippy was not happy. And why?
Mrs. Lambert has chosen a slightly graver these for her story this time and a truly fine story it is . . . one which girls, after they have read it, will often recall with awakened interest in their fellow beings everywhere. Not only is the delightful unity of the Parrish family stressed as it always is, but now there has been added a warm and beautiful interest in and sympathy for others outside that charmed circle of security and happieness. Tippy Parrish has become someone to admire tremendously as well as to love as a favorite heroine. (inside flap)
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Miss America (1951)
A year in another country can be a very, very long time, and Tippy Parrish is not at all sure she is going to like the changes time has wrought on this side of the Atlantic. For one thing, pretty clothes cost much more than they did a year ago. And people have changed too: Bobby, unpredictable brother Bobby, wants to leave West Point to go into advertising; and Alice Jordon, Tippy's beloved "Alcie," seems just a shade distant, with a secret she doesn't care to share.
But most painful of all to Tippy is that her dear Peter Jordon keeps getting lost behind a smoke screen of memories riased by handsome Lieutenant Ken Prescott whom she left behind in Germany.
Tippy is frankly bewildered. Then out of a clear sky, war in Korea looms, and the entire Parrish clan is forced into making some pretty important decisions. How does Tippy handle the situation? In her very special "Tippy" way--and what could be more fascinating! (inside flap)
Don’t Cry, Little Girl (1952)
While Tippy Parrish eagerly awaited the arrival of Ken Prescott, she dreamed of love and marriage. And when she found his sentiments to be the same as hers, her happiness bubbled over. Then, quite suddenly, Ken's leave was cancelled. With a heavy heart, Tippy put away the lovely tablecloth she had purchased for their game of make-believe at being married.
As Tippy bravely say Ken off to Korea on the morning plan, she gave some serious thought to the months that lay ahead. She would learn how to knit, to sew, and to cook, against the day when they would be reunited once again. She would write him regularly, and look forward to receiving his precious letters.
Busy with school--with comforting Peter Jordon and the weekly hops at West Point--time did pass. But one day, the world almost came to an end for Tippy, and all her hopes were shattered . . . This is one of Mrs. Lambert's most unusually charming and appealing stories. (inside flap)
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Rainbow After Rain - Sadly, not in my collection
Welcome Home, Mrs. Jordon - Sadly, not in my collection
A Song In Their Hearts - Sadly, not in my collection
The Jordan Family series
Just Jenifer (1945)
The arrival of a young nobleman adds romance and suspense to 16-year-old Jenifer's life. (series listing)
Friday’s Child (1947)
Alice Jordon was a typical "Friday's child" for she was "loving and giving," especially where her sister Gwenn, vain, selfish and clever, was concerned. Another "Friday's child" in the huge Jordon family was the eldest sister, Jenifer. Jenifer held the family together and Alice, happy, completely unself-conscious, was her able lieutenant.
General Jordon's headquarters are now at Fort Jay, on Governor's Island, within a stone's throw of the Statue of Liberty. Since the Parrishes (minus Penny and David) live there too, it is only natural that the young people of both families should meet--even though Gwenn resists every opportunity to put her best foot forward and be the least bit friendly.
When Gwenn, uninvited, follows Jenifer to the Camp Illumination at West Point, it is faithful Alice who loyally trots off to bring her back to the island. But it is patient Jenifer who in the end must decide just what to do about the Jordon family's prima donna.
So you can see, there is never a dull moment at the Jordons', especially with the Parrishes on hand. And just to top if off Cyril, Lord Carlington, to the delight of Jenifer, returns from England for what could possibly a very long stay.
Girls who have read Just Jenifer will enjoy meeting Tippy Parrish and her brother, Bobby, and will delight in renewing their friendship with Alice, Jenifer, and all the Jordons--even unpredictable Gwenn! (inside flap)
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Confusion by Cupid (1950)
Gwenn Jordon missed no opportunity to remind her step-brother, Peter, that his favorite girl, Tippy Parrish, had found a great admirer in young Lieutenant Prescott in Germany, and as the present story opens Peter is thoroughly mad. Especially at women. If it had not been for Alice, his other step-sister, he didn't know just what he would do. Of course, there was a pretty little lass from out of town, but just how much did she count?
Meanwhile Gwenn and Alice went to a houseparty at Bill Hanley's where Alice was to have been the guest of honor. Gwenn, however, having just fallen out with her own fiance, decided to get even with him by making herself the belle of the houseparty.
After that what happened? Was Alice, sweet, reliable Alice, able to extricate her thoughtless sister from a wretched situation that jeopardized the happiness of two families? And presently just how did Bobby Parrish feel when he found Alice admitting that Jon Drayton (remember Christy Drayton's brother?) was an awfully nice chap? And what finally became of the lad to whom Gwenn had been engaged? Truly--all was confusion--with Cupid hanging his head in discouragement.
All ends well though, as it always does in Janet Lamber's inimitable stories for girls, with all the characters settling finally into their perfect if unpredictable positions in the intricate pattern woven for them. (inside flap)
A Dream for Susan (1954)
Susan Jordon simply could not believe her ears! All her life she had dreamed of having a home and family like her friends. Going to Turkey with Dad and keeping house for him had seemed like a dream come true. But now General Jordon was calling to say he had to go to Japan instead, and once more Susan was to be thrust back into the boarding school she loathed.
But there's much to be said about wanting something badly enough. And when a girl has a twin brother like Neal and an older sister like Alice, she can't feel miserable and homeless for very long.
First, Neal has a wonderful idea to be followed by an even better one from none other than Tippy Parrish's mother. With the whole Parrish clan joining forces with the Jordons to help Susan realize her dream, she soon finds herself with a home, a family, and a very ardent admirere.
Janet Lambert has a very special touch when it comes to the people she loves. Her books are chock-full of wonderful, fun-loving, very-much-alive young people, and Susan Jordon is one of the most charming and lovable of them all. (inside flap)
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Love Taps Gently - Sadly, not in my collection
Myself & I (1957)
In spite of her youth, eighteen-year-old Susan Jordon has always responded to the demands of her large family, even when it meant giving up something she herself desired.
Now Susan has reached a critical point in her life. She has decided that her own individuality must express itself--that "myself" and "I" are more important than "ourselves" and "we." She must find a way to release her "real self."
But the sensitive Susan soon discovers that it is difficult to be firm, when for so long she has been acquiescent. Susan's resolution of her problem and her response to the demands of exuberant Bobby Parrish make a delightful story for all girls who themselves desire an opportunity to express their own personalities.
Join Susan as she travels from Gladstone to West Point, then straight into a trap set by Bobby Parrish at Fort Knox, and finally home again to start her first job and learn that life cannot be lived happily without other people. (inside flap)
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Stars Hang High (1960)
"I'm not going to the Orient with you and Daddy," Bitsy Jordon says firmly. "I'm going to stay right here." Who's turn down a marvelous trip like that? Only a girl who wants to fight her battles on home ground: battles for friends, for a job of her own, for being somebody besides Susan Jordon's little sister! (back cover)
Wedding Bells (1961)
"You can't keep me a prisoner in my own--afraid to go see my own sister, or to have her family come to see me. If I marry you, Bobby, trust has to work both ways!" It's only a week till the wedding. And it looks as if Susan Jordon and Bobby Parrish's marriage may be ended before it begins! (back cover)
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A Bright Tomorrow (1965)
In New York, a city of eight million, Bitsy Jordon could be alone. She took art classes in the mornings, and, with her portfolio under her arm, hounded publishers' offices in the afternoons. And she always loved coming home to her quiet one-room apartment. After growing up in a large family, Bitsy hugged her new-found privacy and independence to her.
But when tragedy struck the Jordon family, Bitsy suddenly realized she needed other people, and that friends couldn't be turned on and off like water faucets. As the roommate of two young career girls, Bitsy discovered that sharing problems, as well as joys, was illuminating and often very helpful.
Janet Lambert, the popular author of more than forty books for teen-age girls, has written a moving yet ebullient story. The delights and the sorrows of being a member of a big family and the frustrations and rewards of pursuing a career in one of the world's most exhilarating cities are sensitively portrayed and Bitsy herself emerges as a sympathetic and charming heroine. (inside flap)
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The Parri MacDonald series
Introducing Parri (1962)
Meet Parri . . . 14-year-old daughter of famous actress Penny Parrish. Her trip into New York for a "sensible" coat ended with a tryout for a Broadway play . . . and began a whole new life of fun and dating. Another wonderful Parrish family story by the author of Star-Spangled Summer, Wedding Bells, and The Stars Hang High.
That’s My Girl - Sadly, not in my collection
My Davy - Sadly, not in my collection
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The Candy Kane series
Candy Kane (1943)
Candy wasn't as pretty as her sister Leigh, but she had a wistful little combination of something else in her make-up that made people love her and trust her and want her to be around.
At Fort Benning, for instance, where Major Kane was stationed, Candy was absolutely essential to the success of every party or outing. Leigh and Mother, however, were of another stripe, and made the going rather difficult for everyone . . . especially for a certain young soldier. Later on, in fact when it was much too late, they discovered their mistake and from a distance Candy coudl smile her quiet, small, happy smile.
Here is a story with the same quality of wholesome freshness and gaiety that characterized the Parrish stories, and girls will find Candy every bit as lovable a heroine as the delightful Penny. (inside flap)
Whoa, Matilda! (1944)
Everyone who has read CANDY KANE has kept her fingers crossed that the irrepressible Candy would somehow continue her helpful, hopeful, unpredictable ministrations to her difficult family at Fort Benning. And here she is!
This time the Kanes are living in a hotel in crowded Washington, awaiting Colonel Kane's orders to leave on what turns out to be a highly secret overseas mission. Barton Reed is now a full-fledge private first class, and owns a hysterical old coupe named Matilda. Matilada lacks figure, dignity and self-control, and eventually becomes Candy's most prized possession--because Bart can see no possible way of keeping the delightful old jalopy now that he is in the Army.
Both Matilda and Candy eventually find themselves a new home near Fort Benning with Candy's delightful friend, Jane. And with them go the Kanes' two problem children--Candy's most difficult sister Leigh, and Marcia, their mother.
Candy is growing up--she's 16 now--and other boys besides Barton are beginning to appreciate her sunny, lovable charm. So the prickly little plot beings to hatch. To tell the rest would be unfair to Candy and the Army.
Each new book by Janet Lambert seems to be even better than the last. And WHOA, MATILDA! is the best to date. (inside flap)
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One for the Money (1946)
Candy Kane again, and this time in California. Barton, who in WHOA, MATILDA! shared ownership with Candy in their battered jeep, is now on his way home from the war in the Pacific. When he arrives he finds Candy completely absorbed in the career of a race horse named Mister Smith, owned by an engaging old man who can not afford to have him trained and "handled." Barton does not share Candy's zeal in the project at first, but in spite of himself he becomes interested.
The result is that, in spite of a serious quarrel which almost spoils everything, Mister Smith wins an important race at Santa Anita to the boundless joy of the old man and Candy and Barton. The quarrel is made up and the ending is on a high and happy note.
Another typically sparkling Janet Lambert story, full of humor and gayety and the wholesome realism which girls love in their books today.
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Updated 11/23/06
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