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Beany Malone #5
Beany Has a Secret Life
Norbett goes to a college in Ohio leaving Beany at loose ends. Martie marries a portrait artist, Adair, and the children (especially Beany) are disappointed that she lacks the matronly image and homemaking skills they had envisioned in their new stepmother. Feeling alone and somewhat rebellious, Beany joins a secret club called The Triple O, for "On Our Own." Beany is delighted to be paired off with the popular Andy Kern but soon realizes that the much admired secret club organizers have ulterior motives regarding their fellow club members.
289 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1955
8 people are currently reading
62 people want to read
About the author
Lenora Mattingly Weber
43 books56 followersLenora Mattingly, though born in Missouri, lived most of her life in Denver, Colorado. In 1916 she married Albert Herman Weber and was the mother of six children.
Weber's first book, Wind on the Prairie, was published in 1929. From 1930 through 1962 she wrote short stories for magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post, McCall's, and Good Housekeeping. Her last book was published posthumously in 1972.
Lenora Mattingly Weber’s favorite topics included the Denver area, horses, and teenage girls. In 1943 the first Beany Malone book, Meet the Malones, was published. Beany Malone became Weber's most well-known creation, featured in 14 books and appearing as a minor character in the Katie Rose Belford and Stacy Belford series.
Weber's first book, Wind on the Prairie, was published in 1929. From 1930 through 1962 she wrote short stories for magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post, McCall's, and Good Housekeeping. Her last book was published posthumously in 1972.
Lenora Mattingly Weber’s favorite topics included the Denver area, horses, and teenage girls. In 1943 the first Beany Malone book, Meet the Malones, was published. Beany Malone became Weber's most well-known creation, featured in 14 books and appearing as a minor character in the Katie Rose Belford and Stacy Belford series.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
July 7, 2011
Interesting book. Kind of a Red Scare version of Beany! I think you really have to consider the time that this one was written in to understand all the hullaballoo over these ‘secret clubs.’ People were really afraid of Communism and it was the time of McCarthyism, etc. Still, from a modern view it does sound a little absurd that people get so worked up over some high school students meeting to drink to tea and eat molded ice cream turkeys! (Just wait until the sixties start, Mr. Dexter!)
I felt like I understand Beany better in this book, and I found her character’s actions very relatable. Adair was annoying at first, and it's perfectly logical to see why Beany jumped to the conclusions she did. I like that the heroine is not perfect; she makes mistakes and tries like the rest of them to iron them out. I also liked that she saw through the Triple O pretty quickly and sought to go about getting out of it. I was afraid she would go through the whole book and then finally turn against it at the end. Not so. Her misgivings started creeping up pretty quickly. I like that--she didn't just blindly follow. She looked at things in the perspective of what she was taught and what she thought was right.
As a side note: good riddance to Mrs. No-Complaint!
It does bother me a little what an absent father Mr. Malone is. I know he’s supposed to be Mr. Perfect-Father, but why is he never there for his kids…especially just leaving his new bride to learn the ropes alone (e.g., Adair's frequent refrain of “I wish Martie were here.”). The denouement felt a little too neat, with everybody just showing up to smile (and the Bitter One acting almost HUMAN?!?! What is this! He reminds me a little bit of Gaston from Betsy-Tacy, though I actually like Gaston more because he's kind of more aggressively argumentative. Plus he likes Julia, and that amuses me. Whoops, got a little side-tracked there. Moving on...). Andy is waaay better than Norbett, though I don’t like that he tries to get out of his job and that he sometimes sneaks people in (he’s still a little rough around the edges).
I thought with Maurine getting the black eye and avoiding school that she was getting abused by Vince (but, wow, he was a jerk!) or that she was pregnant or something. I should have known to check my modern mindset at the door! But that’s okay; I don't mind that the books are innocent. I like how things turned out, though like most Beany books this one was also pretty predictable. (I mean, c’mon, don’t tell me you didn’t see that thing with the duplicate cars coming as soon as Wally shows up with the SAME model and color of vehicle). But I’m willing to overlook any minor faults because they’re still really fun books and I greatly enjoyed this one.
I felt like I understand Beany better in this book, and I found her character’s actions very relatable. Adair was annoying at first, and it's perfectly logical to see why Beany jumped to the conclusions she did. I like that the heroine is not perfect; she makes mistakes and tries like the rest of them to iron them out. I also liked that she saw through the Triple O pretty quickly and sought to go about getting out of it. I was afraid she would go through the whole book and then finally turn against it at the end. Not so. Her misgivings started creeping up pretty quickly. I like that--she didn't just blindly follow. She looked at things in the perspective of what she was taught and what she thought was right.
As a side note: good riddance to Mrs. No-Complaint!
It does bother me a little what an absent father Mr. Malone is. I know he’s supposed to be Mr. Perfect-Father, but why is he never there for his kids…especially just leaving his new bride to learn the ropes alone (e.g., Adair's frequent refrain of “I wish Martie were here.”). The denouement felt a little too neat, with everybody just showing up to smile (and the Bitter One acting almost HUMAN?!?! What is this! He reminds me a little bit of Gaston from Betsy-Tacy, though I actually like Gaston more because he's kind of more aggressively argumentative. Plus he likes Julia, and that amuses me. Whoops, got a little side-tracked there. Moving on...). Andy is waaay better than Norbett, though I don’t like that he tries to get out of his job and that he sometimes sneaks people in (he’s still a little rough around the edges).
I thought with Maurine getting the black eye and avoiding school that she was getting abused by Vince (but, wow, he was a jerk!) or that she was pregnant or something. I should have known to check my modern mindset at the door! But that’s okay; I don't mind that the books are innocent. I like how things turned out, though like most Beany books this one was also pretty predictable. (I mean, c’mon, don’t tell me you didn’t see that thing with the duplicate cars coming as soon as Wally shows up with the SAME model and color of vehicle). But I’m willing to overlook any minor faults because they’re still really fun books and I greatly enjoyed this one.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 22, 2019
I do enjoy reading about the Malone family. Although, this book wasn't my favorite of the series--the main plot was the tired one of not getting along with a new stepmother--I still loved how all the subplots came together. And, that everyone--girl or boy--is expected to go to college.
July 21, 2023
Personal copy
All of the Weber books are comfort reads, and this was the only one I hadn't looked at it a while. I can see why. Norbert is gone, so Beany is pining for him. Never a Norbert fan. Andy Kern doesn't seem at all like the character he is later. Beany's reaction to Adair never felt right, and the whole mix up with the cars was just kind of weird. Never believed that Beany would have let Johnny put her good yellow sock on the dog. The secret society thing was big in the 1950s, but I can't remember any other authors tying them to incipient Communism. Having read a biography of Weber, maybe she wrote this at a time when she was really hard up for money, and this was a rush job.
Might have to read a Katie Rose book next. Haven't looked at Angel in Heavy Shoes for a while, and always liked the title.
All of the Weber books are comfort reads, and this was the only one I hadn't looked at it a while. I can see why. Norbert is gone, so Beany is pining for him. Never a Norbert fan. Andy Kern doesn't seem at all like the character he is later. Beany's reaction to Adair never felt right, and the whole mix up with the cars was just kind of weird. Never believed that Beany would have let Johnny put her good yellow sock on the dog. The secret society thing was big in the 1950s, but I can't remember any other authors tying them to incipient Communism. Having read a biography of Weber, maybe she wrote this at a time when she was really hard up for money, and this was a rush job.
Might have to read a Katie Rose book next. Haven't looked at Angel in Heavy Shoes for a while, and always liked the title.
September 1, 2022
Not my favorite Beany Malone, but the ending was sure sweet. It was very realistic high school drama though.
August 8, 2022
This book introduces multiple new characters, including a stepmother that Beany has conflict with, and Beany deals with ethical dilemmas in the secret school club she has joined. She finds herself mostly unable to keep her family out of things, despite the club ringleader's instructions, and the tension all seems real, not contrived. While some stories like this depend solely on poor communication and absurd reasoning, it's understandable why Beany feels trapped here, and the story is very engaging.
I predicted one of the main plot twists from the beginning, but there were some related details that surprised me. I think that the plot revolving around the car would have been more interesting if there hadn't been a car-related mystery in the second book, but it was sufficiently different enough to work.
I predicted one of the main plot twists from the beginning, but there were some related details that surprised me. I think that the plot revolving around the car would have been more interesting if there hadn't been a car-related mystery in the second book, but it was sufficiently different enough to work.
October 5, 2008
Lenora Mattingly Weber, Beany Has a Secret Life (Crowell, 1955)
(note: while I don't believe the following review contains spoilers, as the secret I'm going to reveal is entirely unnecessary to the book which contains it, others may feel differently. So I'll post this warning just in case, and say that if you're an absolute anti-spoiler fanatic, do not read this review. Thank you.)
I've always been enchanted, though a little disturbed, by the ever-so-bucolic Colorado found in Lenora Weber's once-world-famous, now-entirely-obscure Beany Malone books. There's something about them that makes even the idealized folks you see in most books seem rather shabby and quotidian by comparison. The Beany Malone books are, pure and simple, escapism of the highest order. Until, that is, the fifth book in the series, Beany Has a Secret Life.
It's obvious starting about halfway through the book that Weber was gearing up for some sort of big social-consciousness to-do at the climax of this one. Normally, the biggest problems Beany and the family have faced have been along the lines of who's going out with whom and whether Beany's going to get that sea-mist sweater before the shop closes after Mary Fred has to run off to the stables to see to Mr. Chips, her beloved horse. And, yeah, those problems, which we've all grown so used to over the years, certainly crop up here. But the overarching storyline is a much, much darker one in Beany Has a Secret Life. And while I doubt this was the case in 1955, a modern reader is going to be dead-set certain s/he knows exactly where Weber is going with the social-consciousness thing. All the setup is there, and it's all pointing the same way. I was getting ready to write a review full of drop-jaw wonder at the forward-thinking nature of Weber's 1955 novel, which would have been the first of its kind.
Then comes the climax. She drops a couple of unsubtle hints a few pages beforehand, and we get the idea maybe we were wrong, but then comes one sentence which spells it out: Beany Has a Secret Life is all about the horror, the HORROR!, of Communism. It's McCarthyite tripe of the worst water. It's an infomercial for knee-jerk right-wing politics. And I can't even come up with a reasonable "well, she'd have been blacklisted if she showed her true colors!" defense, because let's face it, Beany Malone is right up there with baseball and apple pie when it comes to all-Americanism. And, so far in 2009, it's the single biggest disappointment of my reading year. I've been away from the series for over a year because it took me this long to find a library that actually has a copy of this book. And now I know why.
I can only hope, since I have nine books left to go in the series, that Weber got back on track with book six, 'cause this one's awful. If you read the whole series except for this one back when you were a kid, you didn't miss anything. New readers who've tracked down the first four are advised to skip. You fast-forward over commercials when you record a TV program. Think of this as a commercial. **
(note: while I don't believe the following review contains spoilers, as the secret I'm going to reveal is entirely unnecessary to the book which contains it, others may feel differently. So I'll post this warning just in case, and say that if you're an absolute anti-spoiler fanatic, do not read this review. Thank you.)
I've always been enchanted, though a little disturbed, by the ever-so-bucolic Colorado found in Lenora Weber's once-world-famous, now-entirely-obscure Beany Malone books. There's something about them that makes even the idealized folks you see in most books seem rather shabby and quotidian by comparison. The Beany Malone books are, pure and simple, escapism of the highest order. Until, that is, the fifth book in the series, Beany Has a Secret Life.
It's obvious starting about halfway through the book that Weber was gearing up for some sort of big social-consciousness to-do at the climax of this one. Normally, the biggest problems Beany and the family have faced have been along the lines of who's going out with whom and whether Beany's going to get that sea-mist sweater before the shop closes after Mary Fred has to run off to the stables to see to Mr. Chips, her beloved horse. And, yeah, those problems, which we've all grown so used to over the years, certainly crop up here. But the overarching storyline is a much, much darker one in Beany Has a Secret Life. And while I doubt this was the case in 1955, a modern reader is going to be dead-set certain s/he knows exactly where Weber is going with the social-consciousness thing. All the setup is there, and it's all pointing the same way. I was getting ready to write a review full of drop-jaw wonder at the forward-thinking nature of Weber's 1955 novel, which would have been the first of its kind.
Then comes the climax. She drops a couple of unsubtle hints a few pages beforehand, and we get the idea maybe we were wrong, but then comes one sentence which spells it out: Beany Has a Secret Life is all about the horror, the HORROR!, of Communism. It's McCarthyite tripe of the worst water. It's an infomercial for knee-jerk right-wing politics. And I can't even come up with a reasonable "well, she'd have been blacklisted if she showed her true colors!" defense, because let's face it, Beany Malone is right up there with baseball and apple pie when it comes to all-Americanism. And, so far in 2009, it's the single biggest disappointment of my reading year. I've been away from the series for over a year because it took me this long to find a library that actually has a copy of this book. And now I know why.
I can only hope, since I have nine books left to go in the series, that Weber got back on track with book six, 'cause this one's awful. If you read the whole series except for this one back when you were a kid, you didn't miss anything. New readers who've tracked down the first four are advised to skip. You fast-forward over commercials when you record a TV program. Think of this as a commercial. **
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 1, 2020
This is probably the most painful of all the Beany Malone books. She continually is blinded to the fact that the whole "secret club" is a way some popular kids use to get what they want. Also hiding it from her family which ends up hurting her even more. The only thing I like about this book is Beany meeting and getting to know Andy Kern, other than that its my least favorite (though still a well written book).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 18, 2013
Beany Malone is a lovely young girl in the 1950-ish world of Lenora Mattingly Weber. I don't know if it ever really existed, but boy do I wish I were there some days. Beany has to deal with friends with an agenda and a new stepmother. The book is predictable (to those who know the series) but heartwarming nonetheless. LOVE Beany.
July 28, 2022
Once again Beany finds her helpful nature - combined this time with an unaccustomed feeling of being on the outs with her family - plunging her into trouble. Andy Kern, so thankfully opposite from moody, touchy, Norbett, makes his debut, along with a new surprise member of the Malone family.
August 20, 2024
Beany Malone and her family are back in this fifth entry in author Lenora Mattingly Weber's fourteen-volume series devoted to her eponymous heroine's adventures, and changes are afoot! No longer going steady with Norbett Rhodes, who has decided to attend college in Ohio, Beany must also confront a significant development in her own family circle when her father announces that he is remarrying. Getting off to a bad start with her new stepmother Adair, Beany soon finds her home life is no longer the solace and stronghold it once was. At the same time she also finds that her social life at school has become more complicated, after getting herself involved with a secret society known as the Triple O, or "On Our Own." Mistakes pile upon misunderstandings, until it all feels like one big muddle. Fortunately, Beany does have true friends and family, and a good heart of her own to guide her...
Originally published in 1955, Beany Has a Secret Life is another engaging entry in Weber's series, capturing Beany's penchant for involving herself in trouble, and getting back out of its again thanks to the warmth and love of her family. I thought that many of the scenes between Beany and Adair were particularly well done, and captured the sense of anger, resentment and hurt that a child might feel when confronting a change at home, and an unexpected addition to the family. I particularly liked that Beany's knowledge that the initial fault lay with her didn't resolve the issue, and that she had to struggle for some time with her feelings, before conquering them, as I sometimes feel that Weber too easily resolves the emotional conflicts experienced by her characters. Of course, that tendency is still evident in the easy way the story around Maurine is resolved, and I wasn't really sure what to make of the idea that having secret societies—surely something quite common in childhood?—were seen as "vicious" and "un-American." It's clear that Weber had Communism on her mind in this part of the story, and while it didn't really make sense to me—there didn't seem to be anything political or even ideological about the group—I thought it opened a window into attitudes at that time, and was therefore fascinating. Recommended to those who have read and enjoyed previous entries in the Beany Malone series.
Originally published in 1955, Beany Has a Secret Life is another engaging entry in Weber's series, capturing Beany's penchant for involving herself in trouble, and getting back out of its again thanks to the warmth and love of her family. I thought that many of the scenes between Beany and Adair were particularly well done, and captured the sense of anger, resentment and hurt that a child might feel when confronting a change at home, and an unexpected addition to the family. I particularly liked that Beany's knowledge that the initial fault lay with her didn't resolve the issue, and that she had to struggle for some time with her feelings, before conquering them, as I sometimes feel that Weber too easily resolves the emotional conflicts experienced by her characters. Of course, that tendency is still evident in the easy way the story around Maurine is resolved, and I wasn't really sure what to make of the idea that having secret societies—surely something quite common in childhood?—were seen as "vicious" and "un-American." It's clear that Weber had Communism on her mind in this part of the story, and while it didn't really make sense to me—there didn't seem to be anything political or even ideological about the group—I thought it opened a window into attitudes at that time, and was therefore fascinating. Recommended to those who have read and enjoyed previous entries in the Beany Malone series.
November 29, 2022
Beany is much too loyal a friend, because half the time some half-brained person swears her to secrecy, I think "Oh, I would have told my mom/best friend/etc."
This book is so fun though, because we are finally introduced to Andy - who is an all-around good guy and much better than Norbett. But don't get too attached to Andy (slight spoiler).
This book is so fun though, because we are finally introduced to Andy - who is an all-around good guy and much better than Norbett. But don't get too attached to Andy (slight spoiler).
January 28, 2024
Beany gets off on the wrong foot with her glamorous new stepmother. Beany and Kay are flattered when they receive invitations to join a secret club along with Andy and Sidney. As in all Beany books, good triumphs.
March 31, 2021
Marty Malone is the absolute worst. Also, the heavy handed moralizing about “un-American” secret societies was annoying. But I really sympathized with poor Beany in this installment of the series.
January 17, 2025
Fun and realistic
Young adult fiction with struggles and life dealing with adjusting to a new stepmother and wanting to belong handled in a realistic way.
Young adult fiction with struggles and life dealing with adjusting to a new stepmother and wanting to belong handled in a realistic way.
August 11, 2024
Great entry in the series.
October 1, 2016
I adore this series so much - I love it more with each book!
June 8, 2022
Rereading one of my favorite authors from my youth. Books are very dated now; I doubt I could ever encourage a young person to read these. But the family values, the loveable characters, the relatable problems make me return again and again to these comfort books.
November 22, 2025
A comforting way to kick off Thanksgiving break.
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November 24, 2018Re-read this Fall.
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