Sister of the Bride

First Love

by Beverly Cleary

A fresh as a daisy coming-of-age story for the pre-teen set, one of Newbery Medal-winning author Beverly Cleary’s beloved classics. Barbara can hardly believe her older sister is getting married. With all the excitement of wedding plans going on, Barbara can't help dreaming of the day  she  will be the bride. She can't wait to fall in love. But as the big day gets closer, wedding planning often turns into family arguments. Even the bride and groom are bickering over details, and Barbara's fun-loving sister is turning into a very practical, grown-up person. Weddings are fun, but all this serious stuff is scary enough to make Barbara think she's not going to be rushing into a serious romance any time soon.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Romance, Childrens, Realistic Fiction, Middle Grade, Classics

297 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1963

About the author

Beverly 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.

Reviews

[Manybooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although I have found the time and place specific datedness of Beverly Cleary's First Love series of teenage romance novels both interesting and an enlightening sojourn into and through 1950s and with the fourth instalment, with her 1963 Sister of the Bride early 1960s American culture and life (especially with regard to school, romance and family), I do have to admit that I have not really all that much enjoyed Sister of the Bride as a reading experience in and of itself. For one, sorry, but I have never been all that much of a fan of novels, of stories that focus too much if not entirely on weddings and that Sister of the Bride is basically and in my opinion mainly about Rosemary's upcoming nuptials just does not (with regard to my personal tastes) enamour me all that much of Sister of the Bride on a thematics and content based point of view. And for two, and indeed, much more problematically, I in particular have found main protagonist Barbara's total obsession with her sister's wedding and that she basically turns Rosemary's upcoming marriage ceremony totally onto herself at best rather strange and at worst totally self-centred to the extreme (that Barbara basically in my opinion does not really think of her sister as a bride and whether Rosemary will be happy both as Greg's bride and later as Greg's wife, but that to and for Barbara, the only thing that seems to matter in Sister of the Bride is her own future wedding, and that she frustratingly also wants Rosemary to have a traditional wedding mostly because, well, that is what Barbara wants and desires for herself in the future). And while Sister of the Bride has not been in any manner a terrible reading experience for me, between the to and for my personal reading tastes too many and too in my face wedding details and Barbara's constant selfishness and basically making everything more about herself than about Rosemary (who since she is getting married should really be front and centre), I just cannot consider Sister of the Bride with more than two stars and to indeed only recommend it with personal reservations (and yes indeed, I definitely have enjoyed the other three novels of Beverly Cleary's First Love series considerably more than Sister of the Bride and am really also kind of glad to leave especially Barbara and her often jealous selfishness permanently behind).

[Rachel Aranda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was given this book to read by my mom since I'm getting married this June. When I held it I thought the cover was very cute but I didn't have much faith that this book would be super good. I'm happy to say that I was wrong as I read this book in 1-2 days.

This book is told from the perspective of 16 year old Barbara MacLane. She's a girl who hasn't given much thought to her future and tends to live in the now. When her impractical sister Rosemary shares a secret about her being engaged a whole new time period starts up. Barbara has always felt she's in her older sister's shadow as she does everything first including fall in love. Now Barbara feels that her life needs love and to plan a great wedding for Rosemary (and for her future self).

The restlessness of youth definitely resignated with me early on as I remember feeling that way at times. What teenager hasn't felt that way? The issues of Rosemary wanting to have a wedding her way and not others is definitely something I understood. Everyone wants a wedding to be special and they have different ways of trying to ensure it happens. I loved how the book showed hardships and joyous moments of being engaged, being a college student, and planning a wedding as these are all things that I currently am. Unlike Rosemary I'll love married after I graduate as I couldn't imagine trying to get married as a freshman in college and trying to figure out all the things that go into being a married couple.

This book came out in the early 1960s (63 to be exact) so I thought everything would be dated. There were some dated moments, like saddle shoes and hooped skirts being in fashion, but I found this book relevant to me. There were issues with siblings, feeling embarrassed and out of place, trying to impress a crush, and many more incidents that everyone faces in their life. Everyone though this book deals with wedding planning, it isn't all about that plotline and I think it makes this book very enjoyable for any female. Just goes to show that some things never change especially when it comes to wedding planning.

[Susann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't choose a favorite Cleary YA book, but I'd bet that Cleary had the most fun while writing this one. Really wish I could have stayed in the room while Rosemary had it out with her parents:
"And what about children?" Mr. MacLane was demanding as Barbara and Gordy were leaving the house. "Have you thought about them?"
"Of course we have thought about children," was Rosemary's heated answer.
Just how detailed a response did Rosemary provide?

01-24-10:
With every re-read, this book gets better and better. It's a perfect blend of funny meets thoughtful and it shows the joys and mundane realities and struggles of married life.

Re-read 10-12-08 in honor of my sister's engagement.

4-22-08 review:
"If she was going to get married in seven hundred days she should think about falling in love, and the sooner the better."

Mammoth thanks to Kate for mailing me a copy. Why did I resist Cleary's YA novels for so long? I'm liking them more and more. This one is just plain fun, probably because Barbara never gets all that angsty about boys. And I really like a girl who throws a shirt into a boy's face (albeit after weeks of making him cookies), and who irons her skirt WHILE WEARING IT.
I love the Amys. They remind me of a certain internet group of Betsy-Tacy fans. Also, Tootie Bodger. I don't have much to say about him; I just wanted to write his name.
And wouldn't you like to see what Gordy is like in the next ten years? By the time he goes to Berkeley, it'll be 1967/68 and he probably will have traded in those guitar folk songs for something...more.

[Cheryl · Rating 1 out of 5]

Fail. How could the author of the Ramona books and so many other wonderful stories do this?!

Greg and Rosemary will be miserable or will divorce. She is definitely a 'child bride' as he so condescendingly, patronizingly, puts it. She'll wind up keeping a job and doing all the housework and putting up with his bad habits, just as her mother does of her father. That man is a piece of work. After dinner cigar my ass.

And no, not every bride needs silver or pretty things. Especially if they're moving into a dump. Stainless steel and earth colored (call them cinnamon or terra-cotta and sage, instead of olive and khaki) towels are perfectly good gifts. As are, actually, the cans of food that was meant to be a gag gift from her friends. But no, she's going through the motions of writing her paper on Plato, while really giving Sis the job of typing it, everyone else the job of planning the wedding, and dropping it the minute she realizes she's being persuaded to attend a shower. (Presents! Games! The Amys!)

And then the end of the book is all sunny because Sis has two dates w/ different boys (one who doesn't particularly like her, and one she doesn't like) coming up.

Both girls need to finish school before going boy-crazy. Dates are fine, but focus on being able to earn your own living instead of being dependent on a mate. And know who you are yourself, before becoming a wife.

[Tatevik · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am so sad I finished the series. They were so perfect for summer. I wish I found these when I was a teenager. In any case, I enjoyed them as much as I would back at school.
Sister of the Bride was for more mature audience than the other three.

Miss Cleary has become so dear to me, as if I've known her whole my life. Dear Miss Cleary, thank you for letting me be part of your made up, but so realistic world.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

My reading this year seems to go in pendulum swings from the horrific to the sublime. After the punch in the solar plexus that was The Power, I went to this sweet story of two sisters in the early 1960s, one of whom (Rosemary) has just gotten engaged and the other (Barbara) who is a junior in high school trying to find a boyfriend.

I loved Beverly Cleary's The Luckiest Girl when I was in middle school. That was the book that started my dream of living in California and even gave me some decent pointers about boys and romance that helped me get through high school. Somehow I missed Judy Blume back then and boy could I have used her books, so Cleary had to be my mentor.

Because this book was published in 1963 and because Cleary always had a sharp eye, it is actually pretty hip. Rosemary is in college at what seems to be Berkley and has strong ideas about being a woman. Though she is determined to marry her somewhat older boyfriend, she is just as determined to finish college and have her own career.

This is however Barbara's story. She dreams of being a bridesmaid. As she watches all the drama in her family around her parents accepting the idea of the marriage and her sister's grownup ideas, she also navigates between two boys who seem to like her. She feels increasingly left out of the wedding plans. She misses her former close relationship with Rosemary. Oh my, it is all so real and portrayed with the author's generous sense of humor and compassion for kids.

Of course it feels quite outdated now. There is not a hint of sex, except when Barbara's little brother teases her about kissing one of the two boys. But those two sisters are wonderful examples of what we were dealing with in those years. The story has a happy, happy ending.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

First sentence: I guess this is just one of those days, thought Barbara MacLane on her way home from school one bright afternoon late in April. She was not alone. She was walking beside a boy, a very tall boy, but their thoughts were like those famous parallel lines that lie in the same plane but never meet.

Premise/plot: Barbara, a junior in high school, is always playing catch up with her older sister, Rosemary, who is a freshman in college. One day Barbara gets a phone call from her sister. Can she keep a secret?!?! She's coming home that weekend--PLEASE TELL MOM NOT TO SERVE MEAT LOAF--and by the way, I'M GETTING MARRIED. Barbara has to keep the secret a day or two. It won't be easy.

It doesn't take Barbara long to get swept up, up, and away in a daydreaming frenzy. She's thinking about Rosemary's wedding--the dress, the flowers, the reception, the cake, the attendants. Will Rosemary's dress one day be her own?! Will she get to help choose her sister's dress? Will she be the maid of honor or a bridesmaid? What will her dress look like? Will the reception be at their house or at a club? Will her sister wear a dress with a long veil and a cathedral train?

But she's also thinking about her own wedding. If she does everything two years--roughly--behind Rosemary, should she focus on picking out her would-be-groom this year? When does she need to start going steady with a guy if she wants a year-long engagement? How many weeks does she have to meet her one true love? She is certain that she'll fall in love by her sister's wedding.

Will she fall in love with the nice boy with a horrible, horrible nickname of TOOTIE. Or will she fall in love with the boy who gives her rides home from school that expects COOKIES and MILK in return? (His name is Bill). One boy keeps asking her out, the other is content to hang out with her after school. She thinks she knows how she feels about both boys, but does she really?

Gordy, their brother, is NOT daydreaming about the wedding. He has dreams that he's focused on--just not romantic ones. He and two of his friends are going to be the NEXT BIG THING. A trio of folk-singers. He's a bit disappointed that his sister's wedding will not be a gig.

My thoughts: I enjoyed this one. For modern readers it might seem an equal blend of SWEET and SILLY. But I enjoyed both elements. The book can serve as a time capsule of sorts for the time in which it was written. In much the same way as FATHER OF THE BRIDE does--both movie versions. (For example, the price of groceries: eight cans of pork and beans for a dollar.)

One of the things I loved most were the family scenes. I loved spending time with this family: the father, mother, Rosemary, Barbara, and Gordy. It felt like a real family--for better or worse. I loved the give and take of it. There's also a mischievous cat that plays an integral role in the novel!

The narrative was also well done.

Quotes:

Greg made the mistake of mentioning the poet E.E. Cummings, who did not use capital letters or punctuation and often ran words together for effect. Of course this provoked an argument from Mr. MacLane. What if every author took it in his head to throw away the rules? What kind of books would we have then? Books that no one would read, that's what we would have. Greg felt that the printer's job was to print the text, not criticize the author's art. (18)

Wouldn't it be nice if people purred as charmingly as cats when they are hungry? Half the quarrels in the world would never take place. (22)

"I would hate to see any daughter of mine throw herself away on someone who approved of writers who did not use punctuation or capitals. This fellow Greg probably likes archy and mehitabel, too." "So do I, Dad," said Barbara. "And the reason there aren't any capitals in archy and mehitabel is that it was supposed to be typed by a cockroach, who couldn't jump on the capital key and a letter key at the same time. The author wasn't just being lazy. He had a good reason." Mr. MacLane chuckled. "A book written by a cockroach is just about what I would expect this fellow to like." (29)

"And can he afford to pay the orthodontist twenty-five dollars a month?" Mr. MacLane demanded. "Have you thought of that little expense?" "No...I haven't." Crestfallen, Rosemary faltered. How awful thought Barbara as she poured out the dishwater. To want to get married when you are still having your teeth straightened. It must be humiliating to have part of your childhood left over. (43)

Two short years were not much over seven hundred days. Thinking in terms of days instead of years made Barbara feel as if she had not much time left. If she was going to get married in seven hundred days she should think about falling in love, and the sooner the better. Right now. Today. Until this minute she had thought of falling in love as something else that would happen a long time from now. (55)

Barbara watched the umbrella disappear around a bend in the road and, still smiling, she turned and walked into the house. Bill Cunningham. The last boy she had ever expected to notice her. She liked him. She really did. She liked him the way she liked the fizz in ginger ale and the cherry on the sundae. (64)

"It seems to me," said Mr. MacLane, "that ever since Rosemary has been going to the University she has been talking like someone who has read a book on psychology." "I don't know why," puzzled Mrs. MacLane. "She isn't even taking psychology." Barbara had the explanation. "But her roommate is. Millie is majoring in psychology. Rosemary learns a lot from her." "How nice," said Mrs. MacLane dryly. "I am so glad we are to share the benefits of Millie's college education." (69)

Mr. MacLane exhaled a large blue cloud of smoke. "Well, let me tell you something. Someday some mother is going to rebel against her children, and when she does, I will be the first to contribute to a statue in her honor, to be placed downtown in the center of the plaza. A bronze statue. And each year on Mother's Day I shall personally lay a wreat at her feet." (69)

"Millions of footnotes, when all I want to do is think about Greg." (91)

"Your grandfather always liked a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast, reminisced Gramma. "He said it stuck to his ribs." Rosemary looked doubtful. "I don't know whether Greg likes oatmeal or not, but I'm sure I could learn to cook it." Barbara admired her sister for tactfully not telling her grandmother she herself detested oatmeal. Or maybe it wasn't tact at all. Maybe it was love. Maybe Rosemary really would learn to cook oatmeal if Greg wanted it. Rosemary, cooking oatmeal of all things, and early in the morning, too. Rosemary, who always had such a hard time waking up. Barbara smiled to herself. She wondered if Rosemary would learn to eat oatmeal to keep Greg company. That would be the test of love, Rosemary eating oatmeal. (96)

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just found this on my Goodreads shelf with NO STARS. I don't know why, but I can assure you that it was some terrible mistake on my part. A slip of the finger on the keyboard.

I love everything Beverly Cleary ever wrote, and this is no exception! Completely different from her Ramona books, intended for teens back in the day but suitable for older middle readers now, this is the story of a girl whose sister is getting married. As usual with Cleary, she takes such a simple premise and makes it fascinating. I remember thinking this is what it would be like when my older sister got married: the showers, the gifts, the dress fittings, all told in the usual plain-but-engaging style you'd expect from Beverly Cleary. There's an accident with grandmother's antique veil, some jealousy arises, etc. No one is murdered, there are no talking dragons, but I probably read this book five times in grade school, because it's just . . . good.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute, fun story focusing on a 16-year-old girl's feelings and experiences in the run up to her 18-year-old sister's wedding. This was a very specifically 1950s/early 1960s book, (in contrast to the more timeless feel of Greensleeves, another 1960s teen novel), with attitudes and an overall vibe very much of its time.

To me it was like a cross between an episode of Father Knows Best or another mid-20th century family sitcom and the original Father of the Bride movie starring Elizabeth Taylor and Spencer Tracy. I enjoy both of those things, and I enjoyed this book too, though in my opinion it's not one of the best from Beverly Cleary.

3 1/2 stars

[HeavyReader · Rating 2 out of 5]

More squeaky clean teen romance. At least that's the way I remember it.

[Erin Dittmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a time capsule— it was interesting to see the generational conflict play out in the 1963 YA novel, from the perspective of 2021. Cleary teases out the contradictions of marriage and weddings. This book is class conscious and a celebration of “women’s work” and community— it’s also obsessed with wedding presents. I don’t read a lot of YA, but I plan to pick up a few more Cleary pieces before the year is out.

[Eliza Noel · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a cute little book! It was fun seeing all the wedding preparations from a younger sister of the bride’s perspective.

[Carla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Típic llibre que la Júlia té al prestatge del qual ningú (ni ella mateixa) sap d’on ha sortit. Lectura bastant prescindible, per molt que entretinguda.

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review also appears on my blog, Read-at-Home Mom.

Barbara Maclane is sixteen years old, and has barely begun to have an interest in boys. She sometimes walks home with Tootie Bodger, a trombone player in the school band, but her kindness toward him is more sympathetic than romantic, and her thirteen-year-old brother's disgusting eating habits and poor manners don't exactly do anything to improve her opinion of the opposite sex. Still, when her older sister Rosemary, who is only 18, comes home from college to announce she is marrying a 24-year-old graduate student named Greg, Barbara is enamored of the prospect of this wedding. Suddenly, she's considering not just Tootie, but another boy, Bill Cunningham, who gives her rides on his Vespa and enjoys the cookies she bakes for him. But Barbara has a lot to learn about true love, and as the wedding plans unfold, she gains important knowledge from her sister, from her mother's social club, The Amys, and from her own life experiences doing favors for a boy who doesn't appreciate them.

There is a lot in this book that contemporary readers will find fault with. The idea of an eighteen year old college freshman marrying a much older graduate student and becoming the landlady of a dingy apartment building didn't really sit well with me, and though Barbara's parents were briefly upset by it in the story, I felt like they should have been more upset and gone to greater lengths to prevent it. But I think this book - and the others in this series - are not intended to be how-to books for growing up female. They do teach some lessons about interacting with boys, but they also take a very rose-colored view of the world and indulge the fantasies that young tween and teen girls sometimes have about what it will be like to grow up, fall in love, and get married. And no, life isn't really like what we imagine at fourteen, but I don't think there's anymore harm in reading these books than in adults reading Harlequin romances. It's all in good fun.

This book is less of a romance novel than The Luckiest Girl or Jean and Johnny and seemed to focus more on family relationships - which is what Cleary wrote so brilliantly in the Ramona books. I loved Gordy, the younger brother, and thought Barbara's annoyance with him was very reminiscent of Beezus's behavior toward Ramona. I also liked Tootie, despite his ridiculous name, and thought Bill's brazen disregard for Barbara's feelings was very reminiscent of so many teenage boys who just don't know how to act around girls. And while Barbara's obsession with her sister's wedding did seem a bit strange to me, it did remind me of The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers as well as That Summer by Sarah Dessen. Barbara's behavior was more like that of a twelve-year-old than a sixteen-year-old, but I think changes in the world account for that, more than any fault in Beverly Cleary's writing.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book, and I liked that it was almost entirely about Barbara's thoughts and feelings, and not just about impressing some boy. For Barbara, impressing the boys will come later, when this story is over, and that was perfectly fine with me.

[Kathleen Vincenz · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Gem

No wonder I fondly remember reading it in middle school. It has fun, love, and a bit of seriousness. For a book written in 1960s, it says eighteen is too young to marry. Instead, enjoy your youth, go to college, try things.

[Jasmine Weich · Rating 4 out of 5]

Her sister could a done better

[Tracy Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, I don’t read romance and I was stumped as to how I could meet the 52 Book Club Challenge for a book featuring a wedding. This book happened to catch my eye while working at the library and thought reading a “girl getting married” book written in 1963 would at least be something to laugh at for how outdated it would be.

I should have known better, since Beverly Cleary’s Ramona series was a staple of my childhood, and even the books written in the 1950s really held up when I read them to my own kids. And this was no different. Cleary manages to capture childhood (and in this case, teen/young adulthood) in a way that’s charming and timeless.

Some things were indeed outdated (Rosemary getting married as an 18-year-old college freshman to a 24-year-old grad student? 🚩🚩🚩) but main character Barbara’s feelings about her sister’s wedding, relationships with her parents and annoying younger brother, and dealing with boys she wants to (and doesn’t want to) date. So much was surprisingly modern. Rosemary and her fiancé believe she should continue her education and reject the traditions of useless material things like fine china and silver. In fact it’s expected that both girls will attend and finish college like their teacher parents. Barbara hates the idea of just being some dude’s wife who has to mend his socks and cook him dinner. Both girls mercilessly mock their mom’s cringy social club ladies but also grow to appreciate their generosity. Yes some bits were quaint (oh no, that expensive wedding dress might be over a hundred dollars!) but overall it was a really fun and enjoyable read. Sorry for doubting you, Bev.

52BC #44: includes a wedding

[Flannery · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can't really go wrong with Beverly Cleary, and though this was nothing remarkable, it was super enjoyable to read. It's a great window into the 50s, and definitely gives me nostalgia just from doing Bye Bye Birdie. My favorite part was when the younger brother's band performs at the Latin Banquet, because a Latin Banquet sounds amazing and I want to go to one. I also liked the continued message that a woman can get married and still continue with her studies, even though right now it's more like "if you are studying you shouldn't get married" than "if you get married you should quit your studies." As an aspiring woman academic who does intend to get married (probably not at the beginning of college, like Rosemary does here, but likely before I finish all my graduate work), it's still great to see. This story shows the beginning of the love triangle, and the main character Barbara (the titular sister of the bride) thinks at the end that she really isn't sure which boy she likes better, but she can't wait to find out (in my opinion, it's Tootie). So it's a love triangle devoid of typical love triangle drama (the boys don't fight with each other over her hand, and she's never agonizing over which one to choose, that type of thing. There is some drama within her individual relationships with the boys). Anyway, thoroughly enjoyed this one.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cleary brings her astute observations and humanizing moments to the story of Barbara who feels her college-age sister Rosemary has left her behind. That feeling is exasperated by Rosemary’s announcement that she’s getting married.

Maybe it’s that I’m the eldest sibling or maybe it’s because I spent the whole book thinking Rosemary was impractical (getting married at 18 while also trying to finish college), but I had a hard time connecting with Barbara who is almost obsessed with this wedding. With Cleary’s other YA novels, even when I’ve found the character flawed, I have recognized the feelings, trials, and joys of being a teenager in their depictions. Here it was harder.

I did enjoy the contrast of Rosemary as a 1963 bride who wanted hand-thrown pottery and pumpkin-colored towels, who scoffed at engagement rings as middle-class, only to be won over by a large diamond and the silver platters sent by family members. The generational divide and burgeoning counterculture movement of the early 1960s was woven in deftly.

I had read and owned this book as a child. Child-me thought 18 the perfect age to get married. I wish I could remember my other thoughts on this novel because I’m certain I enjoyed it.

[Marisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a re-read for me but it has been a long time since I read it. Growing up, I LOVED Beverly Cleary’s books, especially the Ramona Quimby series. So when I discovered years ago that she wrote four young adult romance books I had to read them. They were written in the late 50’s, early 60’s so I doubt that many young readers today would be interested or understand the references and language of that period. But for me, this book was just what the doctor ordered during these crazy times we live in. Perfect escapism to my favorite time period! Barbara is both nervous and overjoyed that her older sister Rosemary is getting married. Barbara immerses herself into helping plan the wedding while also dreaming about the day she will be married. It’s like “A Date With Judy” meets “Father of the Bride”(Spencer Tracy version). At times Barbara gets a little too whiny but overall it’s a sweet book with a happy ending. And that happy ending is exactly what I needed.

[Heidi Burkhart · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a reread in honor of Cleary and her life's work. I enjoyed the story from the other end of the spectrum, having first read this book when I was a teen in about 1960. It took me on a little trip back to life in the '50's.

Warning - I was very disappointed to see a racial slur in the book...beyond disappointed - shocked. Times were different then but I really feel that it is no excuse.

[Madame Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Barbara's sister Rosemary is getting married at 18. This sets off Barbara's quest to find a potential hubby in less than 2 years. Over the short planning of the wedding, Barb finds out what she really wants in her young life. I liked Rosemary, but was disappointed when she backed down from her practicality. Barbara was funny and had a strong backbone for a 16 year old. I loved how she tossed Bill's dirty shirt!

[Mary Duda · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s been a long time since I’ve read this. I found myself agreeing with the mom! Still a lovely story about Barbara’s growing up.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

It pains me to rate a Beverly Cleary book so low.

My problem wasn't that this book was very much "of-its-time". It was written in 1963 so it's a bit sexist (the mother is so distracted she can only manager CANNED PEACHES AND GIRL SCOUT COOKIES for dessert!). I could overlook all that with an eyeroll.

The thing I could not overlook was how unlikeable most of the main characters were. I cannot believe the same author who gave us the delightful Ramona Quimby also gave us Barbara MacLean.

Barbara is the 16-year-old titular sister of the bride. Her 18-year-old (!!!) sister Rosemary gets engaged (the 2nd semester of her freshman year of college...and she still has braces on her teeth) to a 24-year-old Air Force vet/grad student and plans to marry him ONLY 6 WEEKS FROM THE TIME THEY'RE ENGAGED. Nevermind that they're both college students and both of her parents are teachers, she simply must get married before summer session starts. Rosemary puts off planning her wedding to the very last minute, and even then, forces much of the planning off on her family. (She makes her sister sew her own bridesmaid dress for crying out loud.) As the wedding nears, she pretty much seems to be into it only for the mounds of presents she gets (after first proclaiming they didn't want "things" weighing their marriage down).

But back to Barbara! Barbara is judgemental, insecure and self-centered. She makes her sister's wedding alllll about her. When her sister announces her engagement, Barbara figures since she's only 2 years younger than her sister, she'll be getting married in about 700 days and better get to falling in love. She purposefully begins avoiding her erswhile suitor Tootie because he's tall and skinny and "likes her more than she likes him". Girl, you can date someone without marrying him! The dude is smart & a talented musician & nice. She insteads starts hanging out with Bill, who rides a Vespa and is seemingly only into her because she bakes him cookies (at one point, he asks her to mend a shirt because "she's so domestic"...she rightfully tells him off, but then immediately feels guilty about it). She gets jealous of the attention her sister receives because of the wedding & feels "left out", even though she's on the front lines during the planning. She suggests her 12-year-old cousin be demoted from junior bridesmaid to passing around the guest book because her cousin is "chubby and giggly". She finally agrees to go out Tootie because of how he keeps complimenting her and telling her she's pretty. She also agrees to give Bill a chance to take her bowling, because....well, who knows? He still might be marriage material?

As much as I hated Barbara, I saved most of my ire for her father. He's bombastic and self-centered (I guess Barbara's apple didn't fall far from the tree), but it's presented as him being "jovial and amicable" (it literally says that):

from page 28:
"Mr MacLane accepted the ash tray. 'A man's home is his castle,' he informed his family. 'He has a right to expect ash trays to be handy and salt shakers o be full at all times.'
'And never find nylons dripping in he bathroom,' prompted Barbara, hopeing her father would elaborateon a man's home is his castle. This was a subject that could keep him going as long as his cigar lasted. The vacuum cleaner should never run while the man of the house was listening to the ball game. Telephone calls from other girls should not exceed five minutes. Anything worth saying could be said in that length of time. That sort of thing, on and on in a bantering way that had a serious undercurrent."

Mr Quimby WOULD NEVER.

[Carin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know I read this book as a teen, but I didn't remember much about it. I love that it was written from the point of view of the younger sister, not the bride. It is both a unique perspective, but also spoke to a group of young girls who often feel left out and ignored, one of Ms. Cleary's specialties. Is it dated? Most certainly. Originally published in 1963, that was 4 years before my parents got married. But I like that even then, Rosemary's young age is commented upon several times. And many of the women in the book work, although it is also unusual enough to be commented on.

As an oldest child, I not only didn't identify with Barbara's desire to be like her sister, I also thought it was perhaps a little forced. Most younger sisters don't want to be like their older sister at all in my experience - to the extreme of often becoming as opposite their sister as is practicable. But of course that is a minor quibble and perhaps wasn't as pervasive in this era, when sisters weren't quite as compared as today. Certainly sisters do measure their progress in life against their sisters, both older and younger.

Barbara felt really real. A bit naive, easily embarrassed, and impatient, but all those are traits common to teenagers and made her feel realistic. I liked that she both idealized her sister and was eager for the wedding, and was a bit chagrined by the changes in Rosemary. It was a sweet book, perfect of course for any younger sister growing up in the shadow of a Rosemary, and the dated aspects to it weren't too many. I wasn't thrilled that Barbara kept baking cookies for the guy she liked, but she did make them from refrigerator packages, not scratch, and she did eventually see the error of that method. The women's clubs like The Amys felt dated until I thought of how similar they are to our book clubs and bunko nights. Making the bridesmaid dresses from patterns was the most old-fashioned part in my opinion.

This book was sweet and endearing and a nice trip down memory lane.

[Bradlye · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sister of the Bride by Beverly Cleary is a young love romance with poor characters and really only three fleshed out characters. The main character is Barbra MacLane with side characters like her brother Gordy and sister Rosemary.The story revolves around the plot of Rosemary getting married and the problems that troubles Barbra.Barbra is a 16 year old girl that is there for plot reasons like most of the other characters.The book centralizes Rosemarys problems more than Barbra which the main character.Rosemary,Barbra,and a boy named Tootie Bodger are the only well written and fleshed out characters. The story is that one day Barbra picks up a pay phone call and it turns out to be Rosemary calling saying she is going to come home.Then Rosemary asks he Barbra can keep a secret so when Barbra says yes Rosemary announces that she is getting married to a man named Greg.The next couple of weeks go by and Barbra sees that it’s getting harder to keep such a secret from her parents.When Rosemary gets home she tells her parents about the marriage and they have a slight disagreement about it.As the story progresses Barbra starts talking to a boy named Bill and giving him cookies after school.Later Barbra has a fallout with Bill after he asks her to stitch his shirt while she had been mending a dress all day.Then at the end of the story Rosemary and Greg gets married and it leaves off with Barbra getting excited to find out what lays ahead for her. I gave Sister of the Bride a one star rating because its story bored me and I stopped caring about nearly every character by the end of the book.Its story focuses to much on a side character then the actual main character for me.That’s my review for Sister of a Bride.

[Allison Renner · Rating 2 out of 5]

No illustrations because this is a young adult book. This novel has less of a "first love" plot than the previous three.

Barbara finds out that her sister Rosemary is getting married after her first year of college. Barbara gets swept up in planning her sister's wedding since Rosemary doesn't seem to care much about it. There are some issues with Barbara wondering who her wedding date will be, which groomsmen might be single, and which neighborhood boy she might marry when she's her sister's age. But these crushes aren't really explored like Cleary did in previous books, so the focus is mostly on wedding preparation.

That wedding spotlight made this book a bit lackluster for me because it felt very surface-level, and I didn't relate much to any character. That being said, it was an interesting read just to learn about the wedding and shower traditions back then compared to how they are now.

[Gil-or (readingbooksinisrael) · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book started off on the wrong foot by being advertised wrongly, which is not its fault, but it is still my least favorite out of the First Love series. Barbara was enjoyable enough as a character most of the time, but the book is about her sister's wedding and I spent a lot of time wishing the book were from the sister's POV (or even the little brother, who I also found more interesting).

I enjoyed the messages the book had about weddings and how they'll never be perfect, and how less traditional weddings are also good weddings; but a book cannot live on messages alone and there were a few scenes I really enjoyed: Barbara and the Vespa, Barbara and Bill's fight, Rosemary's (the sister's) apartment, the cat ruining the veil and a few others.

I dislike the ending and feel that Beverly Cleary let herself by constrained by the genre (or perhaps it was just the time period?) too much.

[Jennifer Hughes · Rating 3 out of 5]

My daughter just eats up these sweet, old-fashioned Beverly Cleary teen romances. I'm reading this at her urging! It is a cute book, but my favorite one of these "First Love" books is, and I think always will be, Fifteen.
Update: I finished this and thought it was cute but not as fun as some other Cleary books. The strange thing for me was that I remember feeling some of the very kinds of things when my older sister got married, yet reading it in Barb's voice just wasn't that interesting. I felt like this book suffered from having an unclear focus on who was the main character, which meant that the relationships--the best part of Cleary books!--weren't as fleshed out as I'd have liked.

[Lydia · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read every Beverly Cleary book I could get my hands on when I was in Junior high (what most of you see as middle school).

One of the things I most notice now is how much relates to my childhood: the constant reference to an electric coffee pot; the idea that a girl should not be kissed even after multiple dates; the idea that a boy would wait for that first kiss; parents involvement with their children; calling parents Mr. and Mrs. - for children Mother and Father. But what is most noticeable are the references to the parents growing up in the depression and how that effects their present behavior.

Still good books although seriously dated.