Just the Beginning

by Betty Miles

Cathy's humiliation over her suspension from school and her mother's new job as a cleaning woman helps her come to a better understanding of her own worth and her relationships with others.

Genres: Young Adult

143 pages, Hardcover

First published February 12, 1976

About the author

Betty Miles wrote more than thirty books for children, including easy readers, picture books, non-fiction books and nine novels for pre-adolescent readers. Her book HEY! I’M READING! is the first book about reading, written for new readers and their families.

Miles was an editor of the innovative Bank Street Readers. She has taught kindergarten children, graduate students, and volunteered as a visiting author in fourth grade classrooms at PS 291. Bronx, NY. She spoke and read workshops on reading and writing with children, parents, librarians, and teachers around the country. Betty Miles was a graduate of Antioch College. She taught children’s literature at Bank Street College of Education. Miles died on July 19, 2018 at her home in Shelburne, Vt. She was 90. She is survived by three children, Sara, David, and Ellen Miles (herself a middle grade author), and three grandchildren.

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another friend of mine from my youth. I still own my treasure from the Scholastic book order of grade school. This is one book I read over and over through grade school and high school. I have read it a few times as an adult but haven't in a long while. I think I will very soon!

[Ashtyn Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

just beautiful. this is so relatable in so many ways, from starting to figure out what to do with your life, coming to terms with mortality, and doing dumb stuff you don’t know why you did in the first place. really enjoyed this one.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had this book as a child and I recently bought a lot of Betty Miles books on eBay. They were published in the late 70s and reprinted in the 80s. They were slice of life books about average American girls. In this one, Cathy Myers is horrified because her mom becomes a cleaning lady because her dad's store isn't making enough money anymore. It's an excellent window into real life. I think my generation learned a lot from books like these about real people. These just aren't written anymore. Everything is fantasy or overblown historical fiction. It's hard for kids to learn about how to deal with real problems when they don't read about them.
Betty Miles wrote eloquently about real girls and it was relatable. Great story.

[Tami Gandt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A coming of age story from the 1970's reminded me of many things but one mainly of a young man who bullied the main character on the bus everyday and ended up being killed by a gun accident. (In junior high there were two boys who committed suicide by a gun at the school I attended) But the story begins with Cathy Myers and her friends skipping school and getting caught which ended in suspension. There the story unfolds of lying, getting caught, suspension, coming clean with her parents and learning to come out from under the shadow of your older sister.

[Stephanie A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty timeless book about being 13, though it is nice to travel back to the seventies and escape any mention of modern technology in doing so. I enjoyed the various classroom vignettes, her warm family relationships, her father's store and her mother's housecleaning job, the latter of which feeds into some lessons about honest work, fair pay, and class/wealth disparity.

I was a little "OKAY THEN" about a classmate dying out of the blue from an accidental gunshot wound, in a very early gun safety PSA, but the rest all seems very "a typical day in the life" for a pleasant young girl who doesn't always do quite the right thing, but is trying her best and learning about the world as she grows up.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another likeable, relatable book from Betty Miles. It's 1976 and thirteen-year-old Cathy attempts to cope with school, her perfect older sister, and her mom's new job as a cleaning woman. Nice moments, including one where she gets together with her two best friends for their annual viewing of the Miss America Pageant.


2/47 tbr box.

[Shelby · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cathy just see’s one thing after another go bad for herself. Cathy is embarrassed of all the financial struggles her family is having especially because of the wealthy community they live in. This humiliation doesn’t stop her from leaving school and heading to the Coffee Break with some friends which leads to her being suspended. During this suspension Cathy learns how to earn money through babysitting and what is feels like to deal with finances. I would not recommend this book, I was expecting more to come of the story it just kind of stayed slow and boring.

[Mx.Lucey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm often shocked when older books are relatable. This book reads a lot like a degrassi junior high book. There's classism,death,guns,bullying and grief all in a short 143 pages yet it doesn't feel rushed! At first I thought it would zoom by but it felt very well paced and I loved every character by the end.

[Bookworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had such an impact on me in my formative years. It's very real.

[Joyce · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a straight-forward, serious book about issues facing young teens, presented with a barely fictional facade. It was a bit dry, but the issues presented were realistic.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

Poor Betty Miles, I wonder what she thinks of YA books today?

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book when I was young, but somehow had forgotten about it until just recently - need to go back and reread it! It was like a good friend.

[Leisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Re-reading books from my childhood collection. Book #21. Rating based on my past affection for the book and warm fuzziness of memory.