Minnow Vail

    What's I remember about this book: girl saving a bird caught in a net on the beach, girl getting her picture painted, girls cousin visiting and wearing a bunch of petticoat to school, boy bailing on girl for cousin. That's it. I also recall not finding it too special but I gave it 4 stars on GoodReads so I guess I'm not sure.

    As this book starts out we find Minna Vail, who people call Minnow because of her small frame, down on the beach one winter evening. She's gone there to sulk over being asked to be a Grunion in Carnival Of The Sea, a local yearly event. However what Minna really wants is to be one of the Mermaids aka beauty queens. She's 15 and feels it's time for her to start being seen as a woman but understands the difficulty in this because of her flat chest and old fashion father who refuses to let her wear makeup or perfume.

    The next day at school Minna befriends a Dutch foreign exchange student and, after finding out he's staying with an uptight elderly couple, makes an attempt to help him fit in more and give him a normal American teenager experience. She asks Bob, a longtime friend, to invite Hans to the beach on Saturday which is where all the kids go. After a little roughhousing Hans is accepted by the boys and later Minna invites him over for dinner, afterwards he teaches her how to Tango. Minna's parents take a big liking to Hans since they very much miss their son who is away at college and Hans enjoys being in a family's home rather than the elderly couple he stays with.

    During this time Minna's best friend, Laura, goes on her first real date. While visiting an aunt in Palm Springs she gets set up on a blind date with a boy and receives her first kiss while decked out in her aunts black sheath dress, rhinestone jewelry, and mink stole. Minna feels childlike compared to her friend so she decided to do something womanly of her own; perform the Tango with Hans at the Friday afternoon dance. It goes over well with everyone except Laura who is mad Minna hadn't let her in on her secret plan. Laura and Minna don't talk for several days but after Laura disappears from school for a week and no one at Laura's home answers the phone, she heads over to check on things. At the door she is greeted by Laura's father who tells Minna that Laura has a serious case of polio and isn't expected to live. Laura is unvaccinated because she didn't want to get a shot so her parents didn't force it. However the next morning we get news that her condition has improved a little.

    It's now Easter break and the town is dreading the arrival of the "Easter bunnies" which is what they call the out of town kids who come to spend their vacation partying at the beach. One of the Easter bunnies is Minna's cousin Lucia who stops at the Vail house to inform her Aunt and Uncle that she's only checking in because her father thinks she's staying with them. Lucia is Mr. Vails worst nightmare; she has bleach blonde hair, heavy mascara, reeks of perfume, and is accompanied by ill-mannered boys. Mr. Vail wants to call Lucia's parents but Mrs. Vail suggests having Minna join their beach party to keep an eye on Lucia. 

    Minna, against her will, goes and without warning received her first kiss from one of the boys to which she immediately slaps him. Lucia and her friends are gone by the end of the week but now George, the college freshman next door who Minna pines after, has arrived home. She ends up spending an afternoon helping him work on his car and is ecstatic when he asks her to play tennis the next day. 

    

    She arrives late after getting held up at school and George is no where to be seen, apparently having stood her up. They reschedule for the next day but at the end of the school day Minna sees George at the entrance talking to two senior girls. She breaks down crying thinking he must be standing her up again as there's no way he would have came to meet her at school. But here she's wrong and when he sees her crying he instantly consoles her and takes her out for a hamburger.

    Over the Spring Minna spends more time with Bob seeing him as a good opportunity to practice being more ladylike and less of a pal around males. They snorkel and swim together and when Laura is fast recovering they drive up to Los Angeles to visit her in the hospital. Bob also promises to help Minna win a position at one of the Mermaids at the Carnival and arranges for a family friend to paint her as a mermaid for posters (hence the cover).

    As summer is beginning Lucia comes to spend it with the Vails. Minna is miserable over having to share her room with Lucia and even more miserable when she finds out she is sharing boys with her too. All the boys flock to Lucia who begins to date Bob in secret but then abandons him when she meets George, although George doesn't last long either when an old friend of Lucia's shows up in town and Lucia ditches George mid-date.

    The beauty pageant for the coveted mermaid positions arrive and Minnow wins first place by preforming in her skin diving suit instead of an evening gown. However the next day she arranges for Laura, who now has to use a wheelchair, to take her place on the mermaid float so she can join in the parade and Minna instead takes a role as Grunion leader, a position she is now content with until she hears that Lucia is going to be chosen by the Octopus (the elected king of the carnival) to be his Queen. 

    

    Feeling overwhelmed by how lovely Lucia life always seems to end up Minnow hides in a gas station bathroom during the parade. She steps out to get a Coke from the soda machine when the Octopus approaches her. He reveals himself to be George and asks Minnow to be his Queen. Minnow suspects George is only asking her in an attempt to embarrass Lucia and begins to think of all the ways Bob has helped her that George never would. When the parade is over Minna goes to see Bob at his fathers hardware store where he is working, she offers him all her dances for the Ball that night, then has her first meaningful kiss.

- Minna's best friend Laura has her own telephone which Mr. Vail thinks is absolutely ridiculous, remarking "I suppose the next thing the Adams will do is get a phone for their dog". I found his attitude really funny.

- Minna takes the phone into the clothes closet to call Laura and they talk about the Grunion situation and begin to discuss becoming old spinster together when her mother tells at her to " come out of the closet". It made me laugh. I know, I'm immature.

- Minna's school is pretty intense with hazing and superiority. The freshman all have to wear caps and do whatever the seniors says. They also are forced to eat on the steps and not allowed to eat at tables. This kind of stuff is so creepy and inappropriate in this day and age that it just makes me uncomfortable.

- Laura nonchalantly mentions that she gets paid a dollar for every half a pound she loses. This seems odd.

- Minna is always making observations which just seem weird. Like when she's on the beach looking at the sea and think it will be here after people are gone, when she stands outside her house and acknowledged that it has character, when she sits in her fathers lap before the fire and thinks how cozy her home is, when she sees her parents joke with each other at the dinner table and realizes they're people and "lovers". Its just weird and clearly for the benefit of the reader but it comes off so awkward because this is Minna's everyday life and there's no reason for her to be acknowledging these things for the first time. It's not like any eye opening event has happened yet to make her see things in a new perspective, we're only on chapter three.

- Its not until chapter three that we're told Minna has an older brother in college. That seemed kind of weird not to mention when were introduced to her parents.

- While Hans is over at the Vails for dinner he "matter-of-factly" mentions that his father was killed in a concentration camp. It was thrown so suddenly into the dialogue that I stopped in shock for a minute.

- Minna's school has a dance every Friday afternoon which seems very extravagant.

- Mr. Adams announcement that Laura has polio and isn't expected to live is so sudden that at first I thought he was joking.

- On page 99 Mr. Adams is mistakenly called Mr. Vail. Second book I've read in a row that had that kind of mistake.

- Mrs. Vail comforts Minna about the possibility of Laura dying by saying there's fate worse than death, Laura might live and be a "cripple". I think most disabled people would disagree.

- When it comes to Carnival by the Seas the Mermaids have to be picked by judges but there are certain rules such as a girl can not compete if she is a model or a "professional beauty". I think that's a pretty great way to give a fair chance to all the girls.

- Minna's mother remarks that she is glad Minna is spending more time with Bob lately since he's "possible" i.e. attainable. That's so weird and rude to say to your insecure teenage daughter. 

    Mrs. Vail is actually very rude to Minna. She gives her no sympathy or understanding when Minna is distressed over things with Lucia. Mrs. Vail claims Lucia is visiting to help her learn not to be such a spoiled brat yet when Lucia does stuff like claim she's allergic to housework, Minna then has to do it all. How is this teaching Lucia anything?

- I really like Bob. In these type of books there's always a boy next door who sees the main character as a chum and they partner up for dances and the like out of convenience. The boy always teases the girl terribly but by the end he has a romantic interest in her. I expected this book to be the same but was pleasantly surprised. Bob, although he sees Minna as a pal, is very kind to her. When they go out swimming she gets frightened and wants to head back but worries he will call her a coward but instead he readily agrees and doesn't tease her. He begins to see her as a woman without any prodding from her, even calling her cute in front of his friends at the beginning.

    One of the best things about this book is that Wise has added a touch of realness; when Minna is described as being flat chested rather then just having it hinted at by saying she was petite or something, when reading an article about boys it mentions "sex appeal" to which Minna thinks sex is too far ahead to think about, Lucia stays out till 4am necking with a boy in the backseat of a car, and when Hans goes off in rapid Dutch it says he could have been swearing.

    Overall this book is very lovely. Characters like Minna and Bob are very likable, it's realistic, and it's just overall heartwarming. Winifred E. Wise did a wonderful job and I very much enjoyed this book.