Review: The Luckiest Girl by Beverly Cleary

March's Pick for the Classic Read-along at The Midnight Garden: 
The Luckiest Girl by Beverly Cleary   Discussion Date: Friday, March 28th
Hashtag: #tmgreadalong

16 year old Shelley Latham is "plotting" a change for the start of her junior year of high school.  First, she is going to break up with her steady boyfriend Jack and then she is going to get her mom to let her buy the ordinary rain slicker like all the girls at school are wearing.  Shelley has after all been saving her money just so she can buy one, but her mom thinks she should wear something more "sensible."  Who would have thought that a "sensible" pink raincoat with a black velveteen collar and matching hat her mom buys (even though Shelley explicitly told her she wanted to buy her own) could cause such problems.  Frustrated and angry with her mother,  Shelley takes matters into her own hands and resorts to destroying the fresh picked flowers her mom has down the disposal.  When an unexpected letter from Shelley mom's former  roommate comes inviting Shelley to come to California to go to school there for the Winter, Shelley eagerly agrees.  With prompting from Shelley's father that it will give her an opportunity to make a few mistakes of her own and grow up a bit, Shelley's mom finally agrees.  Nine months in California sounds like a dream, but Shelley will have to navigate her way in a new school and her first love.  

My Thoughts:  This was a very touching, innocent look at first loves.  I adored the quote "This was love, she knew not the love-for-keeps that would come later, but love that was real and true just the same." I loved how Beverly Cleary captures all those innocent, uneasy feelings of looking at a group of boys standing in the hall talking and knowing there is that "one boy" you want to walk over and start a conversation with, but at the same time all those nervous butterfly emotions are clouding your ability to.  There is something about the timeless quality of a book like that even now I can still identify with those feelings.  A true exploration of teenage girls and the way that sometimes by falling in love with the wrong boy, you just might find the right one.  My review copy was from the library.