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Booky #3
As Ever, Booky
Booky finishes high school and lands her first job. She meets Lucy Maud Montgomery and begins her own writing career. No longer the scatterbrain she was in her younger years, Booky navigates through adolescence, falls in love and moves gracefully into adulthood.
153 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1985
2 people are currently reading
82 people want to read
About the author
Bernice Thurman Hunter
19 books44 followers She was born in Toronto, Ontario, on November 3, 1922 and died May 29, 2002. She married her high school sweetheart, Lloyd Hunter, and had two children, Anita and Heather, and four grandchildren, Meredith, Lisa, Hunter and Franceline. No Greats.
Bernice was the middle child of 5 children (Wilma, Gordon, Bernice, Jack and Robert). She struggled in school because they moved so often. The Booky Trilogy, set during the Great Depression, depicts her family being forced to stay ahead of the bailiff, who threw them out when her unemployed father couldn't afford the rent. (Despite the hardships of poverty, it was her nature to be happy, so the books are upbeat.) They lived in Birchcliff and Swansea. The "new house" was on Cornell Avenue and she went to Birchcliff Public School, but most of her childhood and teens were spent on Lavinia, which is why Swansea claims her for their own. She attended Runnymede Collegiate, but didn't graduate because the war started and she went to work (depicted in The Girls They Left Behind). As a new bride, she lived on Gladstone Avenue in Toronto. Her husband was transferred to Peterborough, so they moved to Millbrook when her children were young. In 1956, she and her husband bought their own home on Meldazy Drive in a beautiful new subdivision in Scarborough, when McCowan was a gravel road and north of Ellesmere was farmland. Her books accurately depict these locales in different eras. Toronto is "a character" in her books.
She was interested in writing since early childhood and would often have a captive audience of school chums lined up along the curb to listen to her stories. In her teens, she met and had the temerity to present a story to her idol, L.M. Montgomery. The famous author of Anne Of Green Gables complimented Bernice: "Your characters ring true!...You have a good imagination" – blissful words for the young author's ears, but the next bit of advice was a crushing blow to the fourteen-year-old's already faltering self-esteem. Montgomery said, "A writer must have higher education -- it is imperative that you go to University." The young hopeful went away dejected. What Ms. Montgomery could not know was that Bernice came from a very poor background and had no hope of a University Education. The fateful words stayed buried in her heart for many years. An avid reader, she was self-educated. She often read a book in one night.
She continued to write because writing was as natural to her as breathing. When her own children were small, Bernice wrote for them an ongoing story about their lives in Millbrook, Ontario with themselves as heroines. (Her first manuscript, Kimberley of Millpond, has been published 55 years later in 2010 by her daughter.) Her stories were written in longhand because Bernice didn't own a typewriter. It was not until her children were grown that she decided to try to publish. She obtained an old Underwood typewriter and tapped out a story about her first grandchild, aptly titled, "A Grandchild Can Make Life Beautiful Again". She sent it to The Toronto Star and they published it and sent her a cheque for fifty-dollars. After that she wrote and published numerous stories for children in magazines and anthologies and then went on to publish 17 novels.
Bernice's novels, especially the "Booky" trilogy, are autobiographical in nature. Her strength as a writer lies in her ability to bring her childhood memories vividly to life for her young readers. Because the setting and tone of her novels accurately capture the past, she was acknowledged by the Toronto Historical Society and her books are used in history as well as language programs in schools. She was in constant demand as a guest speaker in schools and libraries across Canada and her daughter, Heather Hunter, now goes in her stead. Heather gives a power point presentation on Bernice's life and works.
Of her school visits, Bernice once said: "My favourite part of a school visit is 'que
Bernice was the middle child of 5 children (Wilma, Gordon, Bernice, Jack and Robert). She struggled in school because they moved so often. The Booky Trilogy, set during the Great Depression, depicts her family being forced to stay ahead of the bailiff, who threw them out when her unemployed father couldn't afford the rent. (Despite the hardships of poverty, it was her nature to be happy, so the books are upbeat.) They lived in Birchcliff and Swansea. The "new house" was on Cornell Avenue and she went to Birchcliff Public School, but most of her childhood and teens were spent on Lavinia, which is why Swansea claims her for their own. She attended Runnymede Collegiate, but didn't graduate because the war started and she went to work (depicted in The Girls They Left Behind). As a new bride, she lived on Gladstone Avenue in Toronto. Her husband was transferred to Peterborough, so they moved to Millbrook when her children were young. In 1956, she and her husband bought their own home on Meldazy Drive in a beautiful new subdivision in Scarborough, when McCowan was a gravel road and north of Ellesmere was farmland. Her books accurately depict these locales in different eras. Toronto is "a character" in her books.
She was interested in writing since early childhood and would often have a captive audience of school chums lined up along the curb to listen to her stories. In her teens, she met and had the temerity to present a story to her idol, L.M. Montgomery. The famous author of Anne Of Green Gables complimented Bernice: "Your characters ring true!...You have a good imagination" – blissful words for the young author's ears, but the next bit of advice was a crushing blow to the fourteen-year-old's already faltering self-esteem. Montgomery said, "A writer must have higher education -- it is imperative that you go to University." The young hopeful went away dejected. What Ms. Montgomery could not know was that Bernice came from a very poor background and had no hope of a University Education. The fateful words stayed buried in her heart for many years. An avid reader, she was self-educated. She often read a book in one night.
She continued to write because writing was as natural to her as breathing. When her own children were small, Bernice wrote for them an ongoing story about their lives in Millbrook, Ontario with themselves as heroines. (Her first manuscript, Kimberley of Millpond, has been published 55 years later in 2010 by her daughter.) Her stories were written in longhand because Bernice didn't own a typewriter. It was not until her children were grown that she decided to try to publish. She obtained an old Underwood typewriter and tapped out a story about her first grandchild, aptly titled, "A Grandchild Can Make Life Beautiful Again". She sent it to The Toronto Star and they published it and sent her a cheque for fifty-dollars. After that she wrote and published numerous stories for children in magazines and anthologies and then went on to publish 17 novels.
Bernice's novels, especially the "Booky" trilogy, are autobiographical in nature. Her strength as a writer lies in her ability to bring her childhood memories vividly to life for her young readers. Because the setting and tone of her novels accurately capture the past, she was acknowledged by the Toronto Historical Society and her books are used in history as well as language programs in schools. She was in constant demand as a guest speaker in schools and libraries across Canada and her daughter, Heather Hunter, now goes in her stead. Heather gives a power point presentation on Bernice's life and works.
Of her school visits, Bernice once said: "My favourite part of a school visit is 'que
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
June 18, 2022
So in the final installment of the Booky trilogy, Beatrice Thomson (also known as Booky) is now a teenager, and part of As Ever, Booky describes typical teenage pursuits (dating, movie star crushes, Booky's first real job etc.). And Beatrice even gets to meet famous Canadian author L.M. Montgomery, whose advice, although basically constructive, is sadly also majorly devastating at first (that Booky should practice her writing, but that she would also require a college/university education to further develop her talent and skills). Because teenaged Beatrice knows that neither she nor her family would ever be able to afford university or college tuition (not even her brilliant and talented sister Willa had been able to attend university or college, and scholarships and bursaries are simply not available). Will Montgomery's advice stifle Booky's ambition, will her suggestions stop our narrator from pursuing her dream of becoming a writer, an author?
Now I enjoyed As Ever, Booky almost (but not quite) as much as the first two novels (for I do have to admit that the detailed descriptions of Booky and her friends' crush on Deanna Durbin are a bit monotonous for me, but that is likely because I have never really had crushes on movie actresses and actors, as most of my adolescent crushes were generally and mostly literary ones). But still, Booky remains a most lovable, engaging, astutely observant narrator, and that Beatrice Thomson has a talent for writing is wonderfully and yes authentically demonstrated by and through her narration, her observations in As Ever, Booky. And indeed, that Booky’s little brother (clandestinally snooping in his sister's diary) is also shown by Bernice Thurman Hunter as finding said diary more entertaining, more readable than The Western Boy (a published literary magazine) not only further underlines that authenticity, it also lastingly demonstrates to Booky herself that she does, indeed, have talent, that she is meant to be, to become a writer (even more so than winning that essay contest, I believe). Showing both humour and pathos, both triumph and tragedy, As Ever, Booky is a fitting conclusion to Bernice Thurman Huntef’svtrilogy and highly recommended for children (and adults) who enjoy authentic, realistic historical fiction. However, As Ever, Booky should absolutely be read in conjunction with the first two novels, with That Scatterbrain Booky and With Love From Booky, and also most definitely in order of appearance as well (for As Ever, Booky really needs to be read as part of the entire series, as to not read the first two Booky novels would mean only getting, only reading part of the story).
Now I enjoyed As Ever, Booky almost (but not quite) as much as the first two novels (for I do have to admit that the detailed descriptions of Booky and her friends' crush on Deanna Durbin are a bit monotonous for me, but that is likely because I have never really had crushes on movie actresses and actors, as most of my adolescent crushes were generally and mostly literary ones). But still, Booky remains a most lovable, engaging, astutely observant narrator, and that Beatrice Thomson has a talent for writing is wonderfully and yes authentically demonstrated by and through her narration, her observations in As Ever, Booky. And indeed, that Booky’s little brother (clandestinally snooping in his sister's diary) is also shown by Bernice Thurman Hunter as finding said diary more entertaining, more readable than The Western Boy (a published literary magazine) not only further underlines that authenticity, it also lastingly demonstrates to Booky herself that she does, indeed, have talent, that she is meant to be, to become a writer (even more so than winning that essay contest, I believe). Showing both humour and pathos, both triumph and tragedy, As Ever, Booky is a fitting conclusion to Bernice Thurman Huntef’svtrilogy and highly recommended for children (and adults) who enjoy authentic, realistic historical fiction. However, As Ever, Booky should absolutely be read in conjunction with the first two novels, with That Scatterbrain Booky and With Love From Booky, and also most definitely in order of appearance as well (for As Ever, Booky really needs to be read as part of the entire series, as to not read the first two Booky novels would mean only getting, only reading part of the story).
March 22, 2019
2019 re-read
The third book in the trilogy that began with "That Scatterbrain Booky" and "With Love, from Booky ." As I stated in my previous reviews, I adored these books when I was in sixth grade. This particular book is perhaps my favorite book in the series. From meeting L.M. Montgomery to working at Eaton's,Booky and her creator, Bernice Thurman Hunter make Toronto of the 1930's come alive again.
I have certainly enjoyed my walk down memory lane this week.
The third book in the trilogy that began with "That Scatterbrain Booky" and "With Love, from Booky ." As I stated in my previous reviews, I adored these books when I was in sixth grade. This particular book is perhaps my favorite book in the series. From meeting L.M. Montgomery to working at Eaton's,Booky and her creator, Bernice Thurman Hunter make Toronto of the 1930's come alive again.
I have certainly enjoyed my walk down memory lane this week.
December 15, 2019
As Ever, Booky, book 3 = 2019/12/13-14 buddy read with Hilary.
I love how L.M. Montgomery made her way into the story. So much fun! I love Booky and I love her mother. Willa too!
All seemed very 15 years old (to 17 years old) things, especially for the 1930s: the celebrity idols, the girl-boy party which was equally sad and hilarious and Booky’s concerns, her first jobs including her first real job.
I didn’t like rich girl Gloria but I did like rich boy Lorne.
I’d been so scared to read on but it’s really like one big book.
To summarize the 3 novels: Great and memorable characters & relationships and wonderful humor and touching stories, and such interesting photographs. The sibling relationships throughout all seemed completely authentic. One long story.
The only downside for me (aside from what always happens when I read about hungry people without enough food, especially when there are vivid food descriptions in the books, is that I get more hungry myself) is that these were published as novels but they’re obviously heavily autobiographical, so I’m left wondering what was real and what was fictionalized. I might have to try to look for a good and thorough biography of the author. It took me years but I’m grateful I’ve read the whole thing. For my reread of book 1 and the short story and my first reading of books 2 and 3, I enjoyed my buddy read with Hilary. I’m so glad I got to the whole trilogy! Sometimes when I read books and the main character is young I don’t always like it as much as they get older but this one was wonderful throughout. Great historical fiction. I got such a great sense of what it was like to be poor in the Toronto area during the Great Depression. Despite so much awfulness I envied having so many relatives and so many friends in the neighborhood. There is such a sense of community. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing this young girl seeing her aspirations come to fruition.
I wanted to put this on my biography and non-fiction shelves because it’s obvious so much of this content belongs there. There are even real photos supporting the narrative, but they were published as fictional novels and that’s how they’re shelved so I’m restraining myself, even though the Epilogue and story details all the way through point solidly to autobiography.
I love how L.M. Montgomery made her way into the story. So much fun! I love Booky and I love her mother. Willa too!
All seemed very 15 years old (to 17 years old) things, especially for the 1930s: the celebrity idols, the girl-boy party which was equally sad and hilarious and Booky’s concerns, her first jobs including her first real job.
I didn’t like rich girl Gloria but I did like rich boy Lorne.
I’d been so scared to read on but it’s really like one big book.
To summarize the 3 novels: Great and memorable characters & relationships and wonderful humor and touching stories, and such interesting photographs. The sibling relationships throughout all seemed completely authentic. One long story.
The only downside for me (aside from what always happens when I read about hungry people without enough food, especially when there are vivid food descriptions in the books, is that I get more hungry myself) is that these were published as novels but they’re obviously heavily autobiographical, so I’m left wondering what was real and what was fictionalized. I might have to try to look for a good and thorough biography of the author. It took me years but I’m grateful I’ve read the whole thing. For my reread of book 1 and the short story and my first reading of books 2 and 3, I enjoyed my buddy read with Hilary. I’m so glad I got to the whole trilogy! Sometimes when I read books and the main character is young I don’t always like it as much as they get older but this one was wonderful throughout. Great historical fiction. I got such a great sense of what it was like to be poor in the Toronto area during the Great Depression. Despite so much awfulness I envied having so many relatives and so many friends in the neighborhood. There is such a sense of community. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing this young girl seeing her aspirations come to fruition.
I wanted to put this on my biography and non-fiction shelves because it’s obvious so much of this content belongs there. There are even real photos supporting the narrative, but they were published as fictional novels and that’s how they’re shelved so I’m restraining myself, even though the Epilogue and story details all the way through point solidly to autobiography.
October 30, 2019
Booky (Beatrice) Thomson meets her idol, famed Canadian author L.M. Montgomery, in this third and final novel devoted to her childhood and adolescence in Depression-stricken Toronto, an event that has a great influence on her development as a writer. A child in
That Scatterbrain Booky
, and a young 'tween' in
With Love From Booky
, our insouciant heroine is finally a teenager here, embarking on an exciting phase of life. From dating to working, there are new worlds opening up before Booky, not least of them the prospect of what she wants to do with her life, once high school is over. Will Montgomery's constructive criticism - meant well, but crushing to the sensitive Booky - prevent her from picking up her pen again? Or will the results of an essay contest - The Bravest Man I Know, which Booky writes about her Aunt Aggie ("The Bravest Man I Know Is a Woman") - convince her that she has important stories to tell...?
As with the first two titles in the Book trilogy, I greatly enjoyed As Ever, Booky, which managed to pull me in entirely, during the course of my reading. Booky is an engaging heroine, and makes for an excellent narrator. The authenticity of her world - the reader feels that she is truly moving through 1930s Toronto - is owing, in no small part, to the heavily autobiographical nature of her story. The black and white images - photographs of people in the story, and of places in Toronto, advertisements for goods used by the characters - that are included (they are included in all three of the Booky stories) further blur the lines between fact and fiction, and add to that sense of historical reality. I genuinely liked this heroine, I found her story both believable and entertaining, and I came away with a better appreciation of the harsh realities of the Depression. Highly recommended, together with it two predecessors, to all young readers who enjoy good historical fiction!
As with the first two titles in the Book trilogy, I greatly enjoyed As Ever, Booky, which managed to pull me in entirely, during the course of my reading. Booky is an engaging heroine, and makes for an excellent narrator. The authenticity of her world - the reader feels that she is truly moving through 1930s Toronto - is owing, in no small part, to the heavily autobiographical nature of her story. The black and white images - photographs of people in the story, and of places in Toronto, advertisements for goods used by the characters - that are included (they are included in all three of the Booky stories) further blur the lines between fact and fiction, and add to that sense of historical reality. I genuinely liked this heroine, I found her story both believable and entertaining, and I came away with a better appreciation of the harsh realities of the Depression. Highly recommended, together with it two predecessors, to all young readers who enjoy good historical fiction!
May 28, 2012
I can't say enough about how wonderful these books are, or how many times I've read them since I first encountered Booky when I was eight years old (many, MANY years ago.)
March 24, 2014
I love this trilogy of books.
September 8, 2025
Booky Teaches History In Her Journey
Her name is Beatrice Thomson. Her nickname is Booky. But it feels pretty obvious this is really all about the author, the late Bernice Thurman Hunter.
Booky A Trilogy is three novels, That Scatterebrained Booky from 1981, and With Love from Booky from 1983 and As Ever, Booky from 1985 and the short story Visitors from Saskatoon from 1981, make up the tale of this young girl growing up.
And yes, this is one of those fictionalized biographies just like Mildred D Taylor and Watson Choy and Louise Fitzhugh and Betty Smith have done as well.
Booky has one big advantage for these other books, which I dearly loved, in that it takes place in my hometown Toronto, and the other big advantage is that it is filled with history. Two great things together!
But back to the story of Booky itself.
Booky is Beatrice’s childhood nickname, a young girl living in Depression era 1930’s Toronto with her loving family. Her dad looks for work, they go by Eaton’s department store, have to money, move quite abit, hang around relatives, write letters, and many many many more small adventures over the course of time. Booky lives and learns and loves and becomes the person who will one day, when she is much older, write a version of her life.
To compliment this journey, Hunter has photos and old ads scattered throughout the book, which massively helps brings this past to life.
While family love and surviving the Depression being major themes here, another is the turmoil in Europe leading to World War Two. Many books cover this same territory, and from the youth perspective, so some would say Booky just adds to that chorus. My diplomatic response is…. so what? World War Two was one of the most traumatic world events ever, and every story, whether fictional or non-fictional or semi-fictional, should be documented. Because we hope we all learn from it so it never happens again.
Thankfully the Booky series was extremely popular, so its lessons could be absorbed. To help with this, Booky was made into a television movie and a play, that I have never seen.
I got this amazing volume at a Little Free Library and is so very very very glad I did.
Scoopriches
https://scoopsmentalpropaganda.wordpr...
Her name is Beatrice Thomson. Her nickname is Booky. But it feels pretty obvious this is really all about the author, the late Bernice Thurman Hunter.
Booky A Trilogy is three novels, That Scatterebrained Booky from 1981, and With Love from Booky from 1983 and As Ever, Booky from 1985 and the short story Visitors from Saskatoon from 1981, make up the tale of this young girl growing up.
And yes, this is one of those fictionalized biographies just like Mildred D Taylor and Watson Choy and Louise Fitzhugh and Betty Smith have done as well.
Booky has one big advantage for these other books, which I dearly loved, in that it takes place in my hometown Toronto, and the other big advantage is that it is filled with history. Two great things together!
But back to the story of Booky itself.
Booky is Beatrice’s childhood nickname, a young girl living in Depression era 1930’s Toronto with her loving family. Her dad looks for work, they go by Eaton’s department store, have to money, move quite abit, hang around relatives, write letters, and many many many more small adventures over the course of time. Booky lives and learns and loves and becomes the person who will one day, when she is much older, write a version of her life.
To compliment this journey, Hunter has photos and old ads scattered throughout the book, which massively helps brings this past to life.
While family love and surviving the Depression being major themes here, another is the turmoil in Europe leading to World War Two. Many books cover this same territory, and from the youth perspective, so some would say Booky just adds to that chorus. My diplomatic response is…. so what? World War Two was one of the most traumatic world events ever, and every story, whether fictional or non-fictional or semi-fictional, should be documented. Because we hope we all learn from it so it never happens again.
Thankfully the Booky series was extremely popular, so its lessons could be absorbed. To help with this, Booky was made into a television movie and a play, that I have never seen.
I got this amazing volume at a Little Free Library and is so very very very glad I did.
Scoopriches
https://scoopsmentalpropaganda.wordpr...
July 30, 2018
Love this as it concludes the story of Booky. I recommend this to anyone who loves Toronto and wants to read a good story.
July 30, 2018
Booky's adventures continue into adolescence and adulthood.
November 17, 2018
Wonderful conclusion to the Book series. Love that girl!
January 8, 2019
Cute little story that takes place in 1930s Toronto, which I really enjoyed, references and all. The story felt a bit rushed at points, especially that epilogue, which is the reason for 3 stars.
June 26, 2023
Sweet and honest. More of a memoir than a story.
August 1, 2019
A delightful third book to a delightful trilogy. Booky is meeting boys, meeting her favourite author and growing up but she is still endearing as ever. One of my favourite book trilogies that all ages can enjoy!
March 5, 2010
Booky as a teenager! I received this book for free and found it fascinating. It gave me a deeper perspective into the history of my city during the depression era.
December 31, 2012
Booky grows up and starts her career and is as irrepressible as ever.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews