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First Love
Jean and Johnny
First Date
Fifteen-year-old Jean is astonished when a handsome Johnny whirls her round the dance floor. She's never given much thought to boys before; now Johnny is all that's on her mind. Finally she finds the courage to invite him to a dance. But the excitement of a new dress and a scheme to take Johnny's photograph cannot stop Jean's growing uneasiness that she likes Johnny a lot more than he likes her . . .
This high-school story, which is both funny and touching, is about a girl who lacks self-confidence, and a boy who has too much.
256 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1959
About the author
Beverly Cleary
282 books3,436 followersBeverly Atlee Cleary was an American writer of children's and young adult fiction. One of America's most successful authors, 91 million copies of her books have been sold worldwide since her first book was published in 1950. Some of her best known characters are Ramona Quimby and Beezus Quimby, Henry Huggins and his dog Ribsy, and Ralph S. Mouse.
The majority of Cleary's books are set in the Grant Park neighborhood of northeast Portland, Oregon, where she was raised, and she has been credited as one of the first authors of children's literature to figure emotional realism in the narratives of her characters, often children in middle-class families. Her first children's book was Henry Huggins after a question from a kid when Cleary was a librarian. Cleary won the 1981 National Book Award for Ramona and Her Mother and the 1984 Newbery Medal for Dear Mr. Henshaw. For her lifetime contributions to American literature, she received the National Medal of Arts, recognition as a Library of Congress Living Legend, and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal from the Association for Library Service to Children. The Beverly Cleary School, a public school in Portland, was named after her, and several statues of her most famous characters were erected in Grant Park in 1995. Cleary died on March 25, 2021, at the age of 104.
The majority of Cleary's books are set in the Grant Park neighborhood of northeast Portland, Oregon, where she was raised, and she has been credited as one of the first authors of children's literature to figure emotional realism in the narratives of her characters, often children in middle-class families. Her first children's book was Henry Huggins after a question from a kid when Cleary was a librarian. Cleary won the 1981 National Book Award for Ramona and Her Mother and the 1984 Newbery Medal for Dear Mr. Henshaw. For her lifetime contributions to American literature, she received the National Medal of Arts, recognition as a Library of Congress Living Legend, and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal from the Association for Library Service to Children. The Beverly Cleary School, a public school in Portland, was named after her, and several statues of her most famous characters were erected in Grant Park in 1995. Cleary died on March 25, 2021, at the age of 104.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 185 reviews
July 20, 2014
Beverly Cleary amazes me. She has a deceptively simple style, but her insight into people is profound. I wish I'd read this as a teenager, because it contains so much dating wisdom in a sweet story. One favorite quote: "It was Johnny who had noticed her, singled her out of the crowd, had made her feel she was attractive. In a way, it was Johnny who had made her aware of herself." (283)
Don't miss this book if you are a Cleary fan, or like sweet stories.
Don't miss this book if you are a Cleary fan, or like sweet stories.
August 28, 2019
While of course, the late 1950s again come interestingly and with much descriptive enlightenment to life in Beverly Cleary's 1959 Jean and Johnny (which is the third of her Young Love series of young adult novels), I do have to admit that I have really not much managed to greatly enjoy Jean and Johnny on a personal and emotional reading pleasure level. For one (and even though not quite as intensely and overtly present as in Fifteen, as in the first of the author's Young Love stories) there once again is (in my opinion) rather a bit too much of a distinct and almost exclusive emphasis and focus on Jean and her infatuation with, her crush on Johnny at the expense of a more balanced portrayal of Jean's and yes even Johnny's life. And for two, and to and for me much more importantly, throughout Jean and Johnny, I kept wanting to shake some common sense into Jean, to make her realise that Johnny is actually not really interested in her, is just stringing her along (and is obviously always dumping her if someone or something more interesting appears on the horizon).
And while I do appreciate that at the end of Jean and Johnny, Jean does finally see the light, that she does decide that Johnny is NOT in any way her proverbial Prince Charming (and goes to the dance with Johnny's erstwhile friend Homer who actually really seems to like her and appreciate her), honestly, I really wanted while reading Jean and Johnny for Jean to wake up and smell the proverbial coffee with regard to Johnny and to have distanced herself from him much much earlier and not at almost the very end of the book (and indeed and also, for Jean equally to have understood much quicker how wonderful and imbued with true mutual affection, her older sister Sue's budding relationship with Kenneth really is, as Jean's rather strange and nasty asides when in Jean and Johnny Sue and Kenneth first start dating, they really have rubbed me the wrong way and have certainly shown that Jean has much to learn about what true love is and that love is not and should not be based on primarily physical looks and appearances).
And while I do appreciate that at the end of Jean and Johnny, Jean does finally see the light, that she does decide that Johnny is NOT in any way her proverbial Prince Charming (and goes to the dance with Johnny's erstwhile friend Homer who actually really seems to like her and appreciate her), honestly, I really wanted while reading Jean and Johnny for Jean to wake up and smell the proverbial coffee with regard to Johnny and to have distanced herself from him much much earlier and not at almost the very end of the book (and indeed and also, for Jean equally to have understood much quicker how wonderful and imbued with true mutual affection, her older sister Sue's budding relationship with Kenneth really is, as Jean's rather strange and nasty asides when in Jean and Johnny Sue and Kenneth first start dating, they really have rubbed me the wrong way and have certainly shown that Jean has much to learn about what true love is and that love is not and should not be based on primarily physical looks and appearances).
April 6, 2010
No change except a further appreciation of the Jarretts' tough economic situation.
4-3-10 review:
I take back anything I ever said about this being my least favorite of the Cleary YA books. It's certainly the one that makes me cringe the most, but that's only because it reminds me of my time wasted chasing after a not-good-enough. But good for Jean for learning her lesson and for wearing a killer dress to spend an evening with pigeons.
Cleary's books are always rich with home details that forever fixate in the mind. For me, this one has Jean drying dishes and discovering a speck of food on her plate, but being considerate enough to not bother handing it back to Sue for a re-wash.
Last read: 3-11-06
4-3-10 review:
I take back anything I ever said about this being my least favorite of the Cleary YA books. It's certainly the one that makes me cringe the most, but that's only because it reminds me of my time wasted chasing after a not-good-enough. But good for Jean for learning her lesson and for wearing a killer dress to spend an evening with pigeons.
Cleary's books are always rich with home details that forever fixate in the mind. For me, this one has Jean drying dishes and discovering a speck of food on her plate, but being considerate enough to not bother handing it back to Sue for a re-wash.
Last read: 3-11-06
August 18, 2012
You DON'T read a book like this for its action packed story line. You DO read a book like this for a slice-of-life look into the world of a teenage girl smack dab in 1950s America. In other words, it's literary time travel. For that reason alone, I found it worthwhile. And though times have changed quite markedly for a 15 year old girl, some themes from the book strike a chord even today.
Being a glasses-wearer since junior high, I loved that Jean wore them. I could relate to her insecurities about them! I also loved what Jean learned from Homer about the popular kids and being herself. I enjoyed Johnny's character as well. There will always be Johnnys in this world, and perhaps there are more now than ever. Overall, this book was a just really a fun little jaunt back in time.
3.5 stars
{p.s. The best of Cleary's young adult books set in the 50s is Fifteen.
If your have to choose one -- read it! I loved it as a teenager, and still do.}
Being a glasses-wearer since junior high, I loved that Jean wore them. I could relate to her insecurities about them! I also loved what Jean learned from Homer about the popular kids and being herself. I enjoyed Johnny's character as well. There will always be Johnnys in this world, and perhaps there are more now than ever. Overall, this book was a just really a fun little jaunt back in time.
3.5 stars
{p.s. The best of Cleary's young adult books set in the 50s is Fifteen.
If your have to choose one -- read it! I loved it as a teenager, and still do.}
January 13, 2009
Must have read this book 500 times. It taught me boys can be mean, but girls are tough enough to take it. Sue and Jean reminded me of Beezus and Ramona all grown up!
April 16, 2016
Cleary's recent 100th birthday inspired me to pick up some of her work. I recall reading the Ramona books when I was in elementary school, but I'd never read the YA. I have a soft spot for these types of vintage stories, so it was fun to dive in after reading two books back to back about vampires and death and evil and sex.
Jean Jarrett is a fifteen-year-old girl who doesn't feel like she fits in at her school. She and her best friend swoon over a young TV personality, but school and social matters just don't really gel for Jean.
Enter Johnny. A popular senior who notices Jean and gives her his patented smile and wink. Jean falls hard and the rest of the book is a teenage roller coaster of emotions. Early 1960's style, of course.
Some of this book is cringe-worthy. Not because it's bad or poorly written, but because it's so spot on. Ack! The reminders of chasing a boy in spite of better judgment and warnings from the wise are painful. Cleary did an excellent job of bringing the awkward and devastating elements of the teenage crush to life. Without the false uber-drama of today's YA and NA. It's so real it becomes mesmerizing.
That said, my only real complaint is that it needs one more chapter for the story to be complete. That's probably more my modern sensibility and addiction to epilogues but I felt I wanted to see at least a little bit of what came next. The story itself is finished, I just wanted that wrap-up so that's a critique of personal preference.
Reading this book was eye-opening as well. The writing is so much better than much of what YA delivers today. I think it would be valuable for current YA authors to go back to these classics and take some notes. Again, that's my personal opinion as someone who generally doesn't like much YA that's currently published.
Jean Jarrett is a fifteen-year-old girl who doesn't feel like she fits in at her school. She and her best friend swoon over a young TV personality, but school and social matters just don't really gel for Jean.
Enter Johnny. A popular senior who notices Jean and gives her his patented smile and wink. Jean falls hard and the rest of the book is a teenage roller coaster of emotions. Early 1960's style, of course.
Some of this book is cringe-worthy. Not because it's bad or poorly written, but because it's so spot on. Ack! The reminders of chasing a boy in spite of better judgment and warnings from the wise are painful. Cleary did an excellent job of bringing the awkward and devastating elements of the teenage crush to life. Without the false uber-drama of today's YA and NA. It's so real it becomes mesmerizing.
That said, my only real complaint is that it needs one more chapter for the story to be complete. That's probably more my modern sensibility and addiction to epilogues but I felt I wanted to see at least a little bit of what came next. The story itself is finished, I just wanted that wrap-up so that's a critique of personal preference.
Reading this book was eye-opening as well. The writing is so much better than much of what YA delivers today. I think it would be valuable for current YA authors to go back to these classics and take some notes. Again, that's my personal opinion as someone who generally doesn't like much YA that's currently published.
May 6, 2011
This review also appears on my blog, Read-at-Home Mom.
I read the 1991 edition of this book when I was around 12 or 13, but all I could remember before sitting down to read it this time was that I really enjoyed it. Now that I've refreshed my memory and familiarized myself with the events of the story once again, I can see why it would have been a favorite.
Jean Jarrett is fifteen years old, and though her family doesn't have much money, she has a pretty decent life. She has a good friend named Elaine, and the two girls share a fascination with a young TV heartthrob named Kip Laddish. She also has a good relationship with her sister Sue, and the two sisters often daydream of nice things that might happen. Sue, especially, really wants to meet a nice boy and go on dates.
Surprisingly, though, it is Jean who has this opportunity. One night, she goes with Elaine and her mother to deliver some decorations to the local lodge, and while the girls sit on the sidelines watching a holiday dance, a handsome boy named Johnny Chessler asks her to dance. Jean is nervous, but when the dance ends, she finds that her mind is now constantly occupied with thoughts of this tall, good-looking boy.
Jean's crush does strange things to her, however. Kip Laddish suddenly isn't nearly as interesting, for one thing, and Jean begins to sense that her sister, Sue is jealous of her newfound romantic interest. She also stops spending as much time with Elaine and starts working really hard to pursue Johnny. But chasing a boy turns out to be much more tiring than Jean expects, and she slowly starts to realize that maybe Johnny isn't the boy she thought he was.
What I love about Beverly Cleary is how well her writing reflects the daily lives of everygirls. There's nothing particularly remarkable about Jean Jarrett, but that is precisely what is so great about her. The dated references to clothing styles, and other 1950's vocabulary date the book somewhat, but Jean's experiences trying to make sense of a crush and to win the attention of the object of her affection are universal across time. I felt exactly as Jean does during my first dance, and on my first dates, and I'm sure many other girls do as well.
I also think this book teaches an important lesson. It's a book about first love, but it is not a romance novel, and that is probably what I liked most about it as a kid. This story is about Jean, from beginning to end, not Johnny, or any of the other people in Jean's life. And though one message of the book does seem to be that girls shouldn't go after the boys they like, I think the larger theme is that girls shouldn't waste their time on good-looking boys simply because they're good-looking, and that there's no need to wait around for a boy who isn't interested when maybe there's another boy out there who is.
If I had a teenage daughter, I'd absolutely want her to read this book, and I think girls like I was - shy, uncertain, and nerdy - will appreciate this portrayal of an average everyday girl experiencing what many girls go through at the age of fifteen. It's no wonder this book has been reprinted so many times - it's truly a gem.
I read the 1991 edition of this book when I was around 12 or 13, but all I could remember before sitting down to read it this time was that I really enjoyed it. Now that I've refreshed my memory and familiarized myself with the events of the story once again, I can see why it would have been a favorite.
Jean Jarrett is fifteen years old, and though her family doesn't have much money, she has a pretty decent life. She has a good friend named Elaine, and the two girls share a fascination with a young TV heartthrob named Kip Laddish. She also has a good relationship with her sister Sue, and the two sisters often daydream of nice things that might happen. Sue, especially, really wants to meet a nice boy and go on dates.
Surprisingly, though, it is Jean who has this opportunity. One night, she goes with Elaine and her mother to deliver some decorations to the local lodge, and while the girls sit on the sidelines watching a holiday dance, a handsome boy named Johnny Chessler asks her to dance. Jean is nervous, but when the dance ends, she finds that her mind is now constantly occupied with thoughts of this tall, good-looking boy.
Jean's crush does strange things to her, however. Kip Laddish suddenly isn't nearly as interesting, for one thing, and Jean begins to sense that her sister, Sue is jealous of her newfound romantic interest. She also stops spending as much time with Elaine and starts working really hard to pursue Johnny. But chasing a boy turns out to be much more tiring than Jean expects, and she slowly starts to realize that maybe Johnny isn't the boy she thought he was.
What I love about Beverly Cleary is how well her writing reflects the daily lives of everygirls. There's nothing particularly remarkable about Jean Jarrett, but that is precisely what is so great about her. The dated references to clothing styles, and other 1950's vocabulary date the book somewhat, but Jean's experiences trying to make sense of a crush and to win the attention of the object of her affection are universal across time. I felt exactly as Jean does during my first dance, and on my first dates, and I'm sure many other girls do as well.
I also think this book teaches an important lesson. It's a book about first love, but it is not a romance novel, and that is probably what I liked most about it as a kid. This story is about Jean, from beginning to end, not Johnny, or any of the other people in Jean's life. And though one message of the book does seem to be that girls shouldn't go after the boys they like, I think the larger theme is that girls shouldn't waste their time on good-looking boys simply because they're good-looking, and that there's no need to wait around for a boy who isn't interested when maybe there's another boy out there who is.
If I had a teenage daughter, I'd absolutely want her to read this book, and I think girls like I was - shy, uncertain, and nerdy - will appreciate this portrayal of an average everyday girl experiencing what many girls go through at the age of fifteen. It's no wonder this book has been reprinted so many times - it's truly a gem.
July 6, 2012
Good for girls thinking about boys and dating. I love when she won't kiss him because it's their first date! Talks about what dating is for: getting to know people better. Also a good discussion of "being noticed" by a boy and how that's not always so fun.
June 8, 2020
I love Miss Cleary's innocent and kind coming of age stories. Our lives are now so complicated, I always expect something bad or unexpected happen in those series. I need more of this kind of books to remind me that the world is not always complicated and artificial.
April 21, 2014
Loved this book when I read it when I was in the 8th grade. At the time it was a large hard cover book and I stayed in my room all day reading it and wouldn't come out till the end.I think I was attracted to the book because I wore glasses, like Jean, (how do you hold your head when you are kissing a boy who also wears glasses????). I liked a boy named Johnny and my middle name is Jean.
Bought it a few years ago and found it to be a normal length book, BUT as soon as I started reading it again, it was like I had just read it the day before because the story all came back, even sentences! A simple teenage love story!
Bought it a few years ago and found it to be a normal length book, BUT as soon as I started reading it again, it was like I had just read it the day before because the story all came back, even sentences! A simple teenage love story!
August 13, 2012
Jean and Johnny is the third of Cleary's novels for young adults. For me it did not have the magic of Fifteen or The Luckiest Girl. Even so, she captured pretty exactly the feelings of a 14-year-old girl who wonders whether or not a boy likes her. I especially could relate to the phenomenon of becoming completely tongue-tied when in the presence of said boy.
What bothered me was how passive Jean would be in any situation concerning Johnny. She was so blind to how much of a self-centered player he was. I am aware that I was the same way at that age but I am not proud of it.
I am pleased to say that my granddaughter, who just turned 14, is much more self-possessed. We HAVE come a long way baby!
March 30, 2014
Oh finally. I read the other three books back when I was fourteen years old, but I never came across Jean and Johnny for some reason. So I decided to include it in the books I had to order online. And I'm glad I did. Even better, I enjoyed it just as much as I enjoyed Sister of the Bride, The Luckiest Girl, and Fifteen.
April 18, 2016
I am a yuuuuuge Beverly Cleary fan and return to her books when I want to add a slice of innocence into our depressing world full of terrorism, high prices, high unemployment, and racial discord. If I had ever read this one, I don't remember it, but I knew how each chapter would steer the plot, and guessed how the book was going to end, so maybe I have read it before or maybe it's just such a generic teen bildingsroman that it seems familiar. That said, I still enjoyed it.
Many people may think that Cleary's books are full of only good things happening to good people, but Cleary's Ramona series, for example, deals with depression, unemployment, bad health, bad habits, marital strife, economic struggles, bullying, and the death of a beloved pet. I picked Jean and Johnny off my bookshelf thinking it would be all goodness and light, like the wonderful Fifteen or Sister of the Bride, but it's actually a very cringe-inducing tale of a young girl who makes a fool of herself chasing after a boy who doesn't give a rat's ass about her. I literally cringed when some of the scenes reminded me of some embarrassing things I did in my youth.
Jean and Johnny is set in the fifites and is about a teen who gets noticed for a short while by a self-centered popular senior named Johnny. She chases him around school and manages to embarrass herself by trying to make something happen when there's just nothing there, against the advice of her older sister and worried parents. She also manages to treat her best friend like garbage, and, dear God, haven't we all been on the receiving end of THAT in school? I was most embarrassed for poor Jean when she coerced her not-so-subtle best friend into snapping a photo on the school steps of her and Johnny together, so she could put it in her wallet and let people casually know that she's got a handsome boy's photo in her wallet. *cringe!*
I started this book yesterday and even woke up early to finish it before starting my day. Like I said, I knew how it was going to end, but I still enjoyed the nicer turn it took at the end, even if I saw it coming from a mile away. You'll never waste your time reading any of Beverly Cleary's classic teen books.
Many people may think that Cleary's books are full of only good things happening to good people, but Cleary's Ramona series, for example, deals with depression, unemployment, bad health, bad habits, marital strife, economic struggles, bullying, and the death of a beloved pet. I picked Jean and Johnny off my bookshelf thinking it would be all goodness and light, like the wonderful Fifteen or Sister of the Bride, but it's actually a very cringe-inducing tale of a young girl who makes a fool of herself chasing after a boy who doesn't give a rat's ass about her. I literally cringed when some of the scenes reminded me of some embarrassing things I did in my youth.
Jean and Johnny is set in the fifites and is about a teen who gets noticed for a short while by a self-centered popular senior named Johnny. She chases him around school and manages to embarrass herself by trying to make something happen when there's just nothing there, against the advice of her older sister and worried parents. She also manages to treat her best friend like garbage, and, dear God, haven't we all been on the receiving end of THAT in school? I was most embarrassed for poor Jean when she coerced her not-so-subtle best friend into snapping a photo on the school steps of her and Johnny together, so she could put it in her wallet and let people casually know that she's got a handsome boy's photo in her wallet. *cringe!*
I started this book yesterday and even woke up early to finish it before starting my day. Like I said, I knew how it was going to end, but I still enjoyed the nicer turn it took at the end, even if I saw it coming from a mile away. You'll never waste your time reading any of Beverly Cleary's classic teen books.
March 29, 2010
I picked this book up last time I was at the house I grew up in. I'd first read this book years ago,(written in the cover was Teton Elementary 4th grade)but I remembered lots of things about it. I still think twice before returning a dish to the dish water (you'd have to read the first chapter to understand what I mean by that) and I have always wanted a breakfast nook. This time my reading was strictly for research purposes. I've always loved Beverly Cleary and was sure she could teach me something about writing.
This is a story about Jean who, while leaving the kitchen at the club to casually observing a formal dance she wasn't invited to (wearing a skirt with plaids that don't match and saddle shoes) is asked to dance by a tall handsome boy. Most of the rest of her sophomore year she spends (with the help of her best friend Elaine) accumulating information about this boy and doing silly things like casually walking by his house and memorizing his phone number (so that's where I got all those silly ideas. Thanks a lot Beverly Cleary!)The boy (Johnny)encourages her interest by showing interest in her. He waits for her outside of her last class most days and walks her to the bus, he even asks if he can come by her house sometime and then stands her up and gives a lame excuse. Her friends and family warn that she is chasing him, but she's sure he thinks she's attractive. He tells her she's cute almost every day.
When he accepts her invitation to a dance at school and she finds the perfect dress, she thinks things will quickly change, but instead she finds that Johnny isn't everything she thought he was and that it's ok to be different and not do things just because everyone else is doing them (I'm talking about eating at the drive in or something, nothing sexual. This was 1959 after all).
Aside from teaching me how to chase boys, I think this was a good book to read as a preteen. It was an interesting view into the era in which it was written, but I wouldn't recommend it to adults. Too innocent:)
This is a story about Jean who, while leaving the kitchen at the club to casually observing a formal dance she wasn't invited to (wearing a skirt with plaids that don't match and saddle shoes) is asked to dance by a tall handsome boy. Most of the rest of her sophomore year she spends (with the help of her best friend Elaine) accumulating information about this boy and doing silly things like casually walking by his house and memorizing his phone number (so that's where I got all those silly ideas. Thanks a lot Beverly Cleary!)The boy (Johnny)encourages her interest by showing interest in her. He waits for her outside of her last class most days and walks her to the bus, he even asks if he can come by her house sometime and then stands her up and gives a lame excuse. Her friends and family warn that she is chasing him, but she's sure he thinks she's attractive. He tells her she's cute almost every day.
When he accepts her invitation to a dance at school and she finds the perfect dress, she thinks things will quickly change, but instead she finds that Johnny isn't everything she thought he was and that it's ok to be different and not do things just because everyone else is doing them (I'm talking about eating at the drive in or something, nothing sexual. This was 1959 after all).
Aside from teaching me how to chase boys, I think this was a good book to read as a preteen. It was an interesting view into the era in which it was written, but I wouldn't recommend it to adults. Too innocent:)
April 25, 2018
I read this when I was about 12 and remember thinking it felt too tame and wholesome (especially after reading Judy Blume's many nitty-gritty takes on becoming a teenager. Where's the bra shopping? Period talk?). But, reading it as an adult I can appreciate how well written and bang-on Cleary's take on unrequited crushes/love truly is. I have been Jean. 15 year old girl meets older, confident dumbass (OCD), OCD leads girl on for way too long and eventually stands her up. (Note to OCD, you can not give a girl a mixtape in 1992 featuring deep cuts by Moose and Sebedoh without her thinking there is *some* meaning behind it). Kids/teens might find this too tame and dated, but might find some humour in the old fashioned technology/fashion/dating rituals/language.
August 27, 2021
Well that was lovely.
I have been looking for this kind of book for a while now(Clean romance is sadly quite hard to find). I was not expecting to like it so much. I felt for Jean most of the book (something I really do with main characters). And her final encounter with Johnny, beautiful, it shows how she has matured from the beginning of the book. My favorite characters were Sue and Homer. I recommend this book👍
My favorite quote:
'The advantage of an imaginary conversation was that the person argued with did not have the opportunity to advance any unwelcome points to support his side of the debate. Jean could always win an imaginary debate'
(also for Taylor Swift fans, after reading this book, I recommend listening to 'Mr. Perfectly Fine' it will make you laugh).
I have been looking for this kind of book for a while now(Clean romance is sadly quite hard to find). I was not expecting to like it so much. I felt for Jean most of the book (something I really do with main characters). And her final encounter with Johnny, beautiful, it shows how she has matured from the beginning of the book. My favorite characters were Sue and Homer. I recommend this book👍
My favorite quote:
'The advantage of an imaginary conversation was that the person argued with did not have the opportunity to advance any unwelcome points to support his side of the debate. Jean could always win an imaginary debate'
(also for Taylor Swift fans, after reading this book, I recommend listening to 'Mr. Perfectly Fine' it will make you laugh).
March 18, 2015
A sweet book offering Beverly Cleary's usual sharp insight into human character and motivation. It's been a long time since I "chased" a boy, but I remember it well (with chagrin) and could relate so well to Jean's emotions! The family dynamics and Jean's friendship with Elaine were heart-warming yet genuine, and the ending was quite satisfying.
Wish I had discovered this series years ago!
Wish I had discovered this series years ago!
July 31, 2026
This is one of her best teen books in my opinion. I related so much to her desperation with johnny, but johnny was so condescending and so mean. Elaine was such a great best friend and i love her unconventional and brave nature. Homer was a prize and i was proud of both of them for learning that they don’t need to be popular and they can be themselves and that is okay.
It was great to see.
It was great to see.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 12, 2017
So glad I'm not 15 years old anymore! Written in the late 1950's, a quaint but frustrating book about a girl getting interested in boys. I definitely didn't like this one as much as "The Luckiest Girl".
January 23, 2024
Johnny you’re a jerk
April 1, 2023
"Maybe that was what a lot of girls should do -- all they could do, really-- wait for the boys to grow up. And in the meantime there were other things to do..."
PREACH, Jean.
This book was ADORABLE. I didn't read it as a kid, and I'm sorry I didn't. I identified too much with Jean and her pining for a boy who turned out to be a worthless turd. I also identified with her best friend Elaine and know what it's like to be dumped by a friend for a worthless turd of a boy.
It is so refreshing that Jean clearly sees Johnny for what he is by the end of the book (a user, a flatterer, an egotistical jerk). And it's even more refreshing (especially for a book written in 1959) that she realizes it's okay to not rushing into having a boyfriend or to just be friends with a boy and maybe something will come of it some day.
This is the 4th and final book of Beverly Cleary's "First Love" series. I only read one of them when I was in the appropriate age range and read the other 3 this year as an adult. Here is my ranking:
1. The Luckiest Girl (still waiting on my pink raincoat with black velveteen buttons!)
2. Jean and Johnny
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3. Fifteen
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...
...
...
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...4. Sister of the Bride (I really disliked the characters in this one, which I'm pained to admit about characters from the same author who gave us Ramona!)
PREACH, Jean.
This book was ADORABLE. I didn't read it as a kid, and I'm sorry I didn't. I identified too much with Jean and her pining for a boy who turned out to be a worthless turd. I also identified with her best friend Elaine and know what it's like to be dumped by a friend for a worthless turd of a boy.
It is so refreshing that Jean clearly sees Johnny for what he is by the end of the book (a user, a flatterer, an egotistical jerk). And it's even more refreshing (especially for a book written in 1959) that she realizes it's okay to not rushing into having a boyfriend or to just be friends with a boy and maybe something will come of it some day.
This is the 4th and final book of Beverly Cleary's "First Love" series. I only read one of them when I was in the appropriate age range and read the other 3 this year as an adult. Here is my ranking:
1. The Luckiest Girl (still waiting on my pink raincoat with black velveteen buttons!)
2. Jean and Johnny
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3. Fifteen
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...4. Sister of the Bride (I really disliked the characters in this one, which I'm pained to admit about characters from the same author who gave us Ramona!)
April 3, 2021
Beverly Cleary wrote lovelorn teen angst and awkwardness just as well as she wrote rambunctious little sisters and motorcycle-riding mice. Also: I identify with the parents in her teen books now. Just as timeless as heartbreak is the desire to protect and help and comfort a heartbroken offspring. (I wonder if Jean's mother wanted to smash that boy's smug face in for him? Just me? ok.)
January 2, 2022
Jean, Jean, Jean . . . what to say? I get it. The hopeless crush on the handsome guy, the analyzing every little word or look for meaning, the dossier-gathering. All for naught because the guy just isn't into you. I feel your pain. And I applaud you for coming to your senses even though it's painful, for figuring out that he's not worth it, for growing up because of it. Good for you for figuring out what you actually enjoy rather than following the crowd. I hope Johnny gets his heart broken someday, that he grows wiser and not just older. And thank you, Beverly Cleary, for your poignant, funny, cautionary tale of Jean and Johnny.
October 13, 2010
Ah! Young people listening to records and tuning in to their favorite television and radio "programs," drive-in restaurants with carhops serving Cokes, folks with telephone numbers like "Toyon 1-4343," and teenaged boys saying things like, "Gosh, that would be swell!" and meaning it.
Such fun to return to this old-fashioned, cozy, slightly heartbreaking, relatable, sweet story as an adult, since I understand it better and have a greater appreciation for Jean's gradual maturation through the novel. She grows in a much more satisfying way than I remembered. Plus, I don't know if I realized it years ago, but there's actually an Asian girl in this book, incorporated into the minor cast of students just like the rest of 'em, but with a clearly different name and a distinct look to her in one of the illustrations.
And, speaking of the illustrations--the darling illustrations! My reading time probably doubled just taking extra moments to study and enjoy all of the fitting and amusing details in the pictures. Wonderful!
Such fun to return to this old-fashioned, cozy, slightly heartbreaking, relatable, sweet story as an adult, since I understand it better and have a greater appreciation for Jean's gradual maturation through the novel. She grows in a much more satisfying way than I remembered. Plus, I don't know if I realized it years ago, but there's actually an Asian girl in this book, incorporated into the minor cast of students just like the rest of 'em, but with a clearly different name and a distinct look to her in one of the illustrations.
And, speaking of the illustrations--the darling illustrations! My reading time probably doubled just taking extra moments to study and enjoy all of the fitting and amusing details in the pictures. Wonderful!
June 28, 2019
Perhaps, if you haven’t read this title, you should find the vintage edition with cover art showing Jean “peering out from under” her bangs that she wears almost too long (until her best friend Elaine successfully coaches her to have them trimmed a little shorter). I think modernized covers (as many timeless books have been given, including the Trixie Belden series), influence new readers erroneously to expect a more modern story than they are about to get. In recent months, since publishing my first two novels (the second of which features a sister of the groom whose angst is all about “When will MY time come?“), I have asserted as often as possible that Jean and Johnny should be required reading by all young girls, especially those with sisters! Jean’s lack of confidence, her naïve crushing on an older boy and misunderstanding her older sister Sue’s position, with the backdrop of the evident close relationship and shared interests and integrity of both sisters, is just classic. A must read depicting valuable life lessons learned the hard way.
July 31, 2014
This was good. I like that it took in the late 50's in California. I like that Jean was short and she wore glasses and before Johnny, she never really noticed boys before. I like that he was a jerk to her and she finally realized it and knew that she deserved a guy who actually LIKED her. At 15 (heck, at any age) , that is a big understanding and realization to come to and I adore Jean for realizing that. Also her apology to her best friend for the way she treated her. Jean is a good character, one can relate to her. Not my favorite Beverly Clearly YA book (I still think Fifteen is the best of her YA books) but I like it a lot.
And I'm sorry but the going-out-of-your-way-to-walk-past-the-house-of-the-guy-you-like-with-your-best-friend was FANTASTIC. I have been there done that. (Although we drove, not walked)
And I'm sorry but the going-out-of-your-way-to-walk-past-the-house-of-the-guy-you-like-with-your-best-friend was FANTASTIC. I have been there done that. (Although we drove, not walked)
October 9, 2022
This is so far my least favorite of the romance books. It's not that it's badly written, but a combination of Jean being so slow on the uptake and having just read The Luckiest Girl which also has a girl chasing after someone who's wrong for her, though in a different way. Especially at the end, when Jean goes on her date with Homer I felt that we had missed out on a lot of sweetness because of Jean not realizing that Johnny was a playboy.
I did enjoy her friendship with Elaine and how you could so much tell that they had been friends a long time. I also liked that Jean knew that she didn't want what Elaine wanted in terms of popularity and that was okay. Also, all the dressmaking scenes.
2.2 stars
I did enjoy her friendship with Elaine and how you could so much tell that they had been friends a long time. I also liked that Jean knew that she didn't want what Elaine wanted in terms of popularity and that was okay. Also, all the dressmaking scenes.
2.2 stars
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 24, 2012
As much as I love Fifteen and The Luckiest Girl, this book just wasn't in the same league.
It might be possible that I am extremely biased, as I have read the other 2 countless times since my teens years, whereas this one some how managed to fly under my radar. But then again, I realized after I finished this, that I had read it before, it just honestly wasn't that memorable. Though it did make me want to go read the other 2 again. :)
It might be possible that I am extremely biased, as I have read the other 2 countless times since my teens years, whereas this one some how managed to fly under my radar. But then again, I realized after I finished this, that I had read it before, it just honestly wasn't that memorable. Though it did make me want to go read the other 2 again. :)
December 7, 2018
I loved this book when I was a kid and I remember checking it out over and over at the library so I thought I would read it again for the sake of nostalgia. Unfortunately a book written about teenagers in the 1950s really didn't resonate with me in 2018. Perhaps I'm too old to identify with it anymore but I found it so boring and lacking of anything interesting that I barely got through the second chapter. That being said, Beverly Cleary has written some wonderful books in her career, but this one has not stood the test of time.
July 11, 2024
Bring these back into the zeitgeist please: Saddle shoes and Bobby socks; calling your dad Pop; calling a group of male friends fellows; carrying around dossiers about your crushes; the adjective gay to describe something festive/merry; starting sentences with “Golly” when you feel overwhelmed; describing favourable people as swell; the funny pages; referring to young folk as whippersnappers; carrying around pictures of your crush in your wallet.
But leave these behind: Calling short girls Midge or Short Stop, cultural appropriation at high school talent shows, chasing f*ck boys
But leave these behind: Calling short girls Midge or Short Stop, cultural appropriation at high school talent shows, chasing f*ck boys
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