High Note, Low Note

Sally & Jean Burnaby #4

by Anne Emery

Jean Burnaby's senior year at high school is complicated by a new girl in class named Kim Ballard. Her romantic interest, Jeff, is also getting too serious. The strain of her relationships conflicts with Jean's plans to study the piano. Another great Anne Emery title!

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1954

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Anne Emery was born Anne Eleanor McGuigan, in Fargo, North Dakota, and moved to Evanston, Illinois, when she was nine years old. Miss McGuigan attended Evanston Township High School and Northwestern University. Following her graduation from college, her father, a university professor, took the family of five children abroad for a year, where they visited his birthplace in Northern Ireland, as well as the British Isles, France, Switzerland, and Italy. Miss McGuigan spent nine months studying at the University of Grenoble in France. She taught seventh and eighth grades for four years in the Evanston Schools, and fourth and fifth grades for six more years after her marriage to John Emery. She retired from teaching to care for her husband and five children, Mary, Kate, Joan, Robert, and Martha.

Anne Emery wrote books and short stories for teen girls throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Her understanding of the lives of teenaged girls creates believable stories and characters that are readable and re-readable!

Reviews

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was better than the previous one, "Sorority Girl". Maybe I just got used to Jean Burnaby, not her older sister Sally, being the protagonist. It's Jean's senior year in high school. She agrees to go steady with her long-time boyfriend, Jeff, and just like Sally before her, finds that it isn't what she wants. There's an added element in this book. A new girl, Kim, who would be fun to know, drags Jean into a lot of trouble simply because Jean feels responsible for her. But eventually irresponsible Kim would drive me crazy too.

The book is 1954, a book of the times and the customs. It's nostalgic to read about it, even though I was a small child then. I remember teens going to a place called Barney's to hang out and I couldn't wait to be old enough to go there with a boy. Alas, Barney's closed long before that time and maltshops were not longer popular in my time of dating. I did like Jean's concentration on her music- it reminds me of my granddaughter. There's one more book in this series. I wish that Emery had continued to make the youngest sister, Betsy, star in a future book. I think she would have been the most interesting Burnaby girl of all.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slightly better than sorority girl but I do think Jean was a bit slow in realising that Kim was the problem and was just wasting her time and leading her into trouble. I'm afraid I was fully on Mrs Burnaby's side the entire time.

Also I did feel a bit bad for Jeff, he was quite a decent guy in the last book and but here he's been given an unattractive neediness and I quite understood Jean's desire to not be tied down to one boy just yet.

[mic jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmm.. not my fave, though it feels like standard Emery.

It could be that I don't like Jean too much, or that continuity continues to be an issue for me in Emery's narrative architecture. For context, I read Sorority Girl right before this, That Archer Girl, and Dinny Gordon books 1-3. I think this one will be my last. **spoilers ahead**

What I did like: Jean gets focused on her music; Betsy presents a nice foil with her commitment to the violin, hey! even Mr. Burnaby reveals that he, too, has always wanted a grand piano! In fact, I liked all the family conflicts, updates, and details; these were absent in Sorority Girl (perhaps to show how absorbing sorority life is? perhaps because Emery has an issue with continuity). I liked how the family worked together to support one another; I also liked Jeff coming through for the Burnabys from the very beginning.

What I tolerated: the slow pacing, especially in the beginning; the random intrigue of Kim Ballard (from the very beginning); the fact that Kim Ballard just dissolves/resolves - no comeuppance or final confrontation between her and Jean...just la la la, my recital, et fin.; Jean's need to be associated with the "it" crowd -- what I mean by that is, in both this novel and Sorority Girl, she just wants to be with the "interesting" (read: cool) kids; the fact that it takes her so long to come to grips with the fact that Kim is a hot mess -- though at the same time, this feels like a genuine portrayal (not for me, but I see people and kids do this all the time).

What I didn't like: the casual racism -- Mrs. Ballard's indefatigable pursuit of the "brute primitive" - WTF?! in Koreans, in the people of Indochina...yikes. Or, Jeff finally letting loose at a dance and dancing with Jean to the "apache" beat. Have mercy. Ahh, the 50s? (not so much.). I didn't like that Jeff and Jean are supposed to be going steady and Jeff is supposed to be coming on strong, but he's not mentioned for sustained gaps lol. Don't get me wrong, his yearning and intentions are written as intense, but consider from the very beginning he's supposed to be riding the bus to school every morning with Jean, yet we don't hear about it ever again until the end of the novel. It's somewhat similar, but less so with Jean's commitment to music. In fact, Betsy's little music arc was more satisfying than Jean's. I also didn't like how much is told in retrospect, example. the Ballards had invited the Burnaby parents out a couple of times after Thanksgiving. I'm sorry, WHEN. ?? Or, Jeff's birthday was coming up in April. No mention of it afterward, except Jean wouldn't have those socks ready...lol, some going steady you're doing, Miss Burnaby.

I think this is more than enough. It was fine to read, nostalgic, at times compelling. In fact, if anything I've noticed about Emery's ability, it's her ability to write a girl with a goal and a CRAZY girl (I'm looking at you Kim and Anne Archer, from That Archer Girl). THAT should be studied...they don't write 'em like that in YA anymore (the average crazy girl, I mean. We continue to see girls with goals - Katniss, etc.). If you think differently, let me know.

[Miriam Boland · Rating 5 out of 5]

my best escape reading!

I was in hi school in the late 60s when everything was changing. For me these books are the decade just before that (my brothers were in the late 50s, older than me) and this a lovely time I just like to sink into, partly because it’s Not my years, even though teen problems are still around. I appreciate how connected many of the parents are in these books. So far, Anne Emery’s books have become a place for me to go to escape what’s going on USA these days. A place to leave the dark news behind for awhile! And there’s more still for me to read! 📚

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this one much better than the third book (but I still missed Sally). With Anne Emery, as soon as someone starts going steady, you know it won't go well - she doesn't disappoint here.
Jeff goes from being a seemingly stable, calm, intelligent guy, to being clingy and irritable. Why is he so demanding of Jean's time?
I also can't believe Jean was so silly to be friends with that girl Kim.

[Adrienne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another sweet entry in this series.

[Melinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you buy into the notion that children may form steady boyfriend/girlfriend relationships before leaving high school, then this is an encouraging and wholesome book. If you're trying to get children to get to know people without pairing off, then this is still a good book but the hero and heroine are paired off at the end. I've decided that I would rather my children get to know more people and know them better, not as steadies, but as friends in groups getting to know their attitudes and aspirations, their goals and ideals, and particularly how they treat other people of all ages, before forming even a semi-permanent attachment. So while this book is really good, its basic premise is off base.

[Sarah TheAromaofBooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5

I actually quite enjoyed this story, especially now that I read it in the context of the rest of the series. There was a little too much angst about Jean/Jeff, but it was still a solid read. I'm really very fond of Jean's parents, who are so sensible.

Note: You can read my review of the entire series here - https://thearomaofbooks.wordpress.com...

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Re-read January 2002.

I've read this one maybe three times, so not sure how I'm just adding it. Anyway, re-read April 2011.

[Meg W]

Although the beginning was slow at the middle of the book the story picks up.