Publisher and Publication Date: Cascade Publishing. 1999. First published in 1943 by the Thomas Y. Crowell Company. Reprinted by arrangement by HarperCollins.
Genre: Young adult fiction written for girls.
Pages: 282.
Format: eBook.
Source: Self-purchase.
Audience: Young adult to adult.
Rating: Excellent.

The illustrations are by Gertrude Howe.

Beany Malone series-Book One. There are 14 books plus a cookbook in this series.
Weber also wrote other series of books. For example, Katie Rose and Stacy Belford.

Link for the Kindle @ Amazon.

For a bio of the author including other books, she wrote: Cascade Publishing.

Goodreads author page.

Fellow blogger and children’s book reviewer loves this book: Ms. Yingling.

I came across Lenora Mattingly Weber and her books by chance. One of those things when someone mentions a book or author on social media. I am intrigued. Then I do a little research and find out the books are inexpensive. Unfortunately, the public library does not have them. I plan to read as many as I can.

Summary:

In the first book, Meet the Malones, Beany is not the main character. Beany is the youngest of the Malone siblings. It is the second eldest who is the main character, Mary Fred.

The eldest is Elizabeth who is a young married woman with a baby on the way. Her husband is in the Army and will be sent overseas soon. When he leaves, Elizabeth and her new baby will move back home with her siblings.

Mary Fred is 16. She is a student in high school. When the story begins, she has just purchased a horse. Her world is school, friends, dances; and a certain popular high school boy who wants to date her.

Johnny is the lone boy of the siblings. He is 15. When the story begins, he hopes to buy a typewriter. But there is an accident, and he must pay the consequences.

Beany or Catherine Cecilia. is 13. She is the cook of the family. She has good organizational skills. She is practical. Steady.

Their dad is a journalist for the newspaper. And he will go to Hawaii soon to cover the war news.

Their mother died three years ago.

Meet the Malones is the story of a close family living in Denver during the early part of World War II. The story shows how the war impacts the family. The story shows everyday life in the Malone family. It shows the four young people who (most of them) are in school yet take on jobs to help with the family finances.

My Thoughts:

Sometimes a book catches me at just the right time to enjoy and even cherish the story. Meet the Malones is easy to read and understand. The overall story is uncomplicated. It is not a story heavy with plot and themes. It is an endearing family drama.

One of the things I love best about the Malones is they work together to solve a problem. They are a family and a team. There is a point in the story when a family member comes to stay with them to help. However, this person is more trouble than help and the family is tested in their own characters and with each other.

Mary Fred has the same kind of predicament other young people have in high school. She wants to be liked and be liked by the “it” crowd. She doesn’t want to spend her days with chores and family responsibilities. She wants to have fun. She loves the attention from a certain popular boy. She changes to suit him. She finds out this is the wrong choice. A person should not change who they intrinsically are to make another person like them or like them more.

I love reading the catchy phrases and words of this generation. This includes what the call certain clothing. For example, saddle shoes or pompadour curl.

I love the intimate conversation about love, relationships, and marriage between Elizabeth and Mary Fred.

I’m anxious to start reading book 2 in this series!