Beany Has a Secret Life

Rating:
Summary: Some timeless themes, and some that are humorously outdated
Review: A better title for this book might be, "Beany Has a Secret Life--as a COMMUNIST!" Beany, her best friend, Kay, and Beany's new boyfriend, Andy, are asked to join an exclusive and secret club at their high school. Because I was born too late too experience the "red scare", it took me a while to realize that was the reason for the ominous warnings about the evils of forming secret clubs or daring to do your own thing.

Aside from the humorous, 50s-style paranoia, there are universal themes that are still fresh and relevant today. Most importantly, Beany and the rest of the family have to adjust to a new stepmother, and the feelings of jealousy, displacement, and resentment are presented in a realistic and sympathetic way. Furthermore, when Beany's feelings are hurt when she thinks the family blames her for a mishap with her stepmother's car, the value of honesty and communication is conveyed.

A more ambiguous theme is presented when Beany and Kay are forced to make choices regarding peer pressure, such as when one of the club's leaders wants Kay to let him copy an old term paper of hers and turn it as his own. They eventually respond admirably; however, this can be obscured by the book's emphasis on conformity, which apparently was strongly encouraged in the 50s.

I also enjoyed some of the other characters, although those outside the family seemed unrealistic, like they could have starred in "Reefer Madness": Maurine, the beautiful and mysterious rebel with a passion for stealing cars and hot-rodding, Vince the Voice, her garage mechanic boyfriend, and Kibby, the abrasive, tough-talking braggart from a nice family, whose biggest dream is dangerous mountain climbing. Other characters did seem real, though, such as Rosellen, a polio-stricken girl in a wheelchair.

However much this book may provide amusement as a 50s timepiece, it still has much that will be related to, especially by teens. It's a thoroughly enjoyable read with as many laughs as there are thought-provoking moments.