BLOGMAS DAY 13 -- WHAT I'M READING: THE YEAR OF JANIE'S DIARY (2018/9)

Hello, friends!  Welcome to my blog.  Can you believe it is just 10 days until Christmas?

Yesterday Joe and I went to Shoprite and I spent way more than I expected to.  But I got for the rest of the month. The only thing I will have to pick up is bread, lunchmeat, eggs, etc.  It is good to know I won't have to go back for the rest of the month.

It was a long time in the store and an even longer time to put things away.  My feet and legs were so swollen by the time I got everything finished.  So again, nothing got done.  I am feeling pretty good today so hopefully I will finish up all that I am going to do.

Today I want to tell you about the latest book I read.  I can't believe that the last book I finished was in August.  I guess I've just been reading a lot of magazines instead.  But my sister loaned me "The Year of Janie's Diary."  When I was in high school I must have read this book 6 times.  It was in the school library and I took it out over and over because I loved it so much.  Can you believe that when I read it now I had forgotten most of the story?  Well, I guess after 47 years it's OK that my memory of it isn't that great.  Have any of you read it?

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Meet Janie Rawlings!  Janie is a livewire up-to-the-minute fourteen year old with zing!  Here is the story of an all-important crucial year in Janie's life.

When Janie begins the diary she's overweight and feels unattractive. She is often at odds with herself or the people around her.  It is evident to everyone except Janie that she is trying to find herself.  She is in a crucial period of her life, that subtle turning point when she passes into the first stages of young womanhood.

By sheer will power and perseverance Janie, little by little, conquers her weight problems.  She does her hair differently, dresses with more style and dash.  All these efforts of Janie's are directed toward one goal -- Greg Wells, the new blond boy down the street.

There are crises for Janie -- near drowning when surfing, a bad automobile accident when a wild group persuade her to go dancing to the music of the Cool Cats, a popular combo, and her hilarious attempt to make a sophisticated entrance at a dinner party her parents give.

Janie is able to grow in wisdom as the year progresses.  She and her father, always fast friends, have a unique understanding.  Her mother tells her of the physical changes that she is undergoing and says that someday she, too, will have a daughter not unlike herself and will be playing the role her mother is now.  Sue, her sister, always in complete command of any situation turns to Janie for strength during an affair of the heart, and even Tommy, her younger brother, realizes what a special person Janie Rawlings really is.

Janie is full of sparkle, energy and ideas.  She is never dull, is always on the move, learning something new daily.  Her teachers never tell her,  but they feel Janie is a terrific girl.  Her parents go through one excitement after another with her -- they never know what is coming next -- but they feel the same way.  Greg Wells, the all important boy in her life, eventually finds the key to unlock Janie's heart.

No one who meets her will ever forget Janie Rawlings.  Janie, in spite of all her doubts about herself, has everything.  She wouldn't think of herself as the all American girl, but she is.  You'll love her!

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After reading this again, I love it as much as I did the first time I picked it up.  It took me back to 1967 when it first came out.  Life was so much simpler then although it didn't seem that way to me.  The world was a lot simpler too.

This is such a rare book that I have seen it go for as much as $1,200.  No, my sister did not spend that much.  She got a really good deal on it.  But you know I am taking very good care of it until I give it back to her on Christmas.  It is wrapped up in a plastic bag and put in a safe place.  I could never afford to replace it if anything happened to it.

So now I am going to get myself together to begin the day.  I have no where to go today so hopefully I can make a huge dent in the cleaning and decorating.  And bake a lot for the Christmas Café tomorrow night.  It will be so much fun and you know I will take you along for it.

Have a wonderful day, everyone, and I will see you tomorrow.

Kathy