Oh, I love Emily! What a sweet character. She's warm and caring, and possesses enough spunky spirit that she tries to overcome her shyness in order to mingle, not just to benefit herself but to benefit others too. I could sympathize with her when she felt directionally lost (I appreciated how Lovelace showcased a beautiful lesson here), cheered her on while she worked at self-discipline and I was in anxious anticipation as to which man would win her heart.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this Deep Valley book, and loved how Lovelace worked in my favorite characters from the Betsy-Tacy books.

Cleanliness:

Profanity
Mild Obscenities & Substitutions - 16 Incidents: "sergeant gives you Billy H*ll," heck, Bully, darned, darn, pooh, dickens, shucks

Religious Profanities - 14 Incidents: Gosh, Gee, Thank God, Gee whiz, Oh Lord, ye Gods, Be Gorrah!,Heaven knows, thank goodness

Derogatory Terms - 4 Incidents: "cock of the walk", Dago

Sexual Content
Lust - 2 Incident: Emily has had a crush on a young man in her high school for many years now.
Girls discuss some of the merits of some of the high school boys they know.

Making Out/Sex - 8 Incidents: In a play, a boy kisses a girl. Two couples sing and caress each other.
A couple ice skate "arms crossed and hands clasped." A man holds a lady's arm closely, helping her walk across a rough patch. After bringing her home, a man leans down suddenly, "took her cheeks between his hands and kissed her." A man takes a lady's hand in his. "When they walked he held her arm in a firm protective clasp. And she thought he felt what she did when their hands touched. But she couldn't be sure." When a man proposes, he takes the lady's hand, they embrace and kiss.

Sexual Miscellaneous - 6 Incidents: Characters often go to dances throughout the book. "She had never learned to joke and flirt with boys. Or perhaps boys just didn't joke and flirt with a girl who lived with her grandfather." "A cheerful, big-bosomed old lady." Mentions a corset cover and petticoat. The word “breast” and "bosom" are used - not sexual. She "caught Emily to her queenly bosom."

Conversation Topics - 2 Incidents: This book has many guys and girls going out together, having beaus, learning how to be a little attractive, dancing and thinking guys are handsome. (Book takes place in the early 1900s). Mentions a few characters smoking a pipe or cigarette.

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There is so much to love about this book! This is a book for anyone who has felt forgotten or excluded. This is also a book where our main character can choose to be a victim or a hero and she chooses the latter. I am only sad that it's as short as it is but now I'm just excited to read the final two Betsy books.

This was a re-read from when I was a kid. At first glance it is an out moded, unstylish book. But I love how she took on racism in 1950, and anyone can relate to being left out and having "unfair" circumstances change their life. And then there is the line "I jus don't think about you. Good bye." I just cheered inside! I'm totally reading this to my girls when they are in middle school.

I loved the Betsy-Tacey books when I was younger, and was thrilled to learn that there were more books by Maud Hart Lovelace. Emily doesn't disappoint: the old-fashioned tone of the book perfectly depicts the life of early 20th century Midwesterners.

Compared to today's girls, Emily will seem mild and rather passive; by the standards of 1912, she's quite a go-getter. Her decisions regarding getting ahead with her life rather than moping because she doesn't have the educational opportunities her Crowd does are rather modern for her day - and yes, she does mimic her heroine Jane Addams in some ways. The feelings she has for Don, and her pique over Jim's ignoring her, definitely resonate today, particularly as she grows over the course of 1912-13. It's also nice to have the "old" Crowd of Betsy-Tacey (and Tib!) make appearances.

If you haven't read the Betsy-Tacey books, do so; if you have, you must read this next!

What a perfect book. Emily’s growing self-awareness and self-possession are so subtle that it took me a while to see it happening. Her changing perception of others too captivated me: of Don and Annette, even of former authority figures (like high school teachers) in her life. The book captures growing up in its changes and dismissals and hurts and joys.

And more than that, it asks the question of what makes a life worth living, and I think models (rather than tells) a marvelous answer: to continue learning, to make supportive friends, to practice the arts, and to find ways to uplift others who don’t have the same privileges we do.

I loved this book so much I don’t even think I can find the words.

Just read this book again yesterday. One of my comfort books that’s such an easy read, but so wholesome. I love reading about this time period.

This was just such a wholesome book, and I simply loved it!!!!

The second of Maud Hart Lovelace's Deep Valley books - tangentially related to her immensely popular ten-installment n  Betsy-Tacyn series, which is centered upon the same fictional Minnesota town - Emily of Deep Valley was originally published in 1950, and depicts a year in the life of a young woman of 1912/13. Unlike n  Carney's House Partyn, another of the Deep Valley books, its heroine plays no part in the storyline of the main series, and - although Betsy Ray and Winona Root do make very brief appearances - the story is the most independent of any of Lovelace's books that I have read thus far (only n  Winona's Pony Cartn left!).

A quiet, reserved girl, Emily Webster always felt a little "out of things," particularly when it came to boys. Included in all of her cousin Annette's parties, she was well-liked, but not popular. When the Class of 1912 graduated from Deep Valley High School, and almost all of her peers headed off to college - whether at the state university in Minneapolis, West Point Military Academy, or Vassar College in the east - Emily was a little lost. She loved her Grandpa Webster, the kindly old Civil War veteran who had raised her, and was happy to take care of him, but also longed to continue her education, and to follow in the footsteps of her hero, social reformer Jane Addams.

But as the saying goes, "When God closes a door, somewhere he opens a window," and Emily soon found herself continuing her education less formally, right in Deep Valley. Learning about Abraham Lincoln, while reading with her grandfather, studying the poetry of Robert Browning, in a small group set up with Miss Fowler, and becoming involved in social reform, through her friendship with the Syrian immigrants living in Deep Valley, Emily was soon as active as she could have hoped. Despite the absence of so many of her friends, her social also life began to improve, as she attended some dances with Cab Edwards (another Betsy-Tacy favorite!), and formed a friendship with the new Deep Valley High School teacher, southerner Jed Wakeman.

Emily of Deep Valley offers an immensely engaging story, in a setting I have come to love! I found myself wondering, as I read it, whether it too was based on Maud Hart Lovelace's life (I know most of the Betsy~Tacy books were), or if Emily was a completely "original" creation. In any case, I loved the story, I loved the characters, and I appreciated some of the social observations, from Grandpa's Webster's Civil War reminisces, to the depiction of the mistrust and prejudice with which the Syrians had to contend. If everything was wrapped up a little too easily, thanks to Emily's immense debating talent, I was nevertheless willing to go along...

I never came across this companion book to the Betsy-Tacy series when I was a young teenager, and I wonder if I would have loved it as much as a 13 year old reader as I did as a middle-aged one? Emily does not have the effervescence of personality - or the fun-loving friends and family - which characterise Betsy Ray, and contribute to so much of the charm of those books. She is a much quieter heroine, and the book details her struggles with feelings of inadequacy, self-doubt and depression. For much of the book, Emily lets herself be in the background - for almost everyone except her grandfather, who is in her care. She lets her friends ignore and dismiss her; she lets a narcissistic boy take advantage of her kindness; and she lets herself feel limited by her own horizons. But for a certain kind of reader, I think that Emily is absolutely the perfect heroine. She has her own strengths and convictions, and when she manages to 'muster her wits', she finds both a sense of purpose and happiness in her life. I admired Emily very much, and was completely delighted by the happy ending she finds for herself.

This book, set in 1912-3, has a wonderful sense of period detail: not just in clothes and furnishings, but also in terms of key events in American history. Emily's grandfather is a veteran of the Civil War, and I was very interested to read about how the federal holiday styled now as "Memorial Day" was celebrated at the turn of the 20th century. Another interesting historical figure is Jane Addams, the pioneer social worker, who inspires Emily. Lovelace has a distinctive way of imparting life lessons, and in that sense, I think this book is one of her very best.

My annual reread around snowball season. I'm a little late this year. And this book is just as good the 20th time (or so) as it was the first time!

EODV is the best book by my favorite author. A dozen sermons are preached without any preachiness. This beloved novel is a self-help book and a wonderful romance all rolled into one. Almost anyone can relate to Emily's struggles at some point in their lives.

This is honestly one of the most underrated books I know. Lovelace's books are already not as well-known as they deserve to be, and this one is a hidden gem. Set in the same Deep Valley as the Betsy-Tacy books and her two other stand-alones, this is the only book of hers that doesn't feature the same group of characters that grew up together. Emily is alone, and she is alone in this book among her friends, lacking the same aspirations and plans. At least...at the beginning. Her journey is touching, and her relationship with her grandfather is beautifully captured. A great post-WWI era coming-of-age book.

Re-read in December 2010.
One of my favorites--how I wish I had met Emily earlier in my life!