Opening Lines: “‘It’s the last day of high school…ever,’ Annette said. She said it gaily, pulling Emily’s hand and swinging her about so that they faced the red brick building with its tall arched windows and doors, its elaborate limestone trimming, its bulging turrets and the cupola that made an ironical dunce cap on top of it all. Annette threw a kiss at it, then lifted her right hand and opened and shut the fingers in a playful wave. ‘Good-bye, old jail!’ she said.”

Book Description: Emily Webster, an orphan living with her grandfather, is not like the other girls her age in Deep Valley, Minnesota. After graduation, she longs to join the Crowd and go off to college—but she can’t leave her grandfather alone at home. Resigning herself to a “lost winter,” Emily nonetheless throws herself into a new program of study and a growing interest in the local Syrian community, and when she meets a handsome new teacher at the high school, Emily gains more than she ever dreamed possible.

Comments: While characters from Maud Hart Lovelace’s Betsy-Tacy series make guest appearances in this novel, Emily of Deep Valley stands on its own; perhaps that’s why I’d never read it until now, although I’ve read nearly all of the author’s other books multiple times. This is genuinely a case of “better late than never,” though. I’m pleased to have finally made the acquaintance of Emily Webster. We met while I was nursing a dislocated shoulder for the second time this year, and her story was a perfect comfort read.

Emily isn’t another version of Betsy Ray, and her Deep Valley, Minnesota isn’t the same as Betsy’s either. Orphaned Emily was raised by her grandparents, and is her grandfather’s primary caretaker now that her grandmother has passed on. She has plenty of girl friends, but is neither boy-crazy nor a boy-magnet, although she is respected by her fellow members of the Deep Valley High School debate team, where she’s the only girl. As she approaches the end of senior year, Emily has reluctantly accepted that her responsibilities at home will keep her from going off to college like the rest of her crowd, but she’s really not sure what to expect from life after high school. Struggling to keep her wits and spirits up as the summer ends and her friends leave town, Emily hatches a few projects that take her in unanticipated directions, enlarging her world and bringing new people into it.

Because she’s grown up in different circumstances, Emily has a maturity that Betsy didn’t have at the same age, although she still has some growing up to do, and her first year after high school affords her many opportunities to do that, even without college. Her challenges are different from Betsy’s as well, as is the way she rises to meet them. I found her to be determined, sympathetic, and endearing, and I was particularly charmed by her relationship with her grandfather, who seems to be as energized by Emily’s projects as she is. And like its protagonist, the novel itself seems to have a depth and level of maturity that sets it apart from its author’s other works. Lovelace introduces some memorable characters and surprisingly contemporary concerns in this novel as she writes about life in her well-known town from a new perspective, but she allows Emily to mingle with some familiar players as well. As noted, this is a stand-alone novel, but if you’ve read the Betsy-Tacy books, it’s enjoyable to see how some of the characters from those become part of Emily’s story.

Emily of Deep Valley is a coming-of-age novel for all ages, and despite its early-20th-century setting, doesn’t feel dated. I found it a joy to read, and it will go on my “keeper” shelf with my other Maud Hart Lovelace books.