Trudy Phillips, Headline Year - the second Trudy Phillips book

This two-book series has been my introduction, of sorts, into the world of "malt shop" stories, and I must say, I rather enjoyed them.  The first book offered up a slight mystery mixed in with plenty of school days adventures and teen angst, and the second book pretty much followed the same form, albeit with an even slighter mystery.  Written by Barbara (S.) Bates (1919-2002), the series follows the life of its title character after her family moves to Tylertown. In the first book, Trudy is trying to find out where she belongs in this new town and new school; now, in this second book, she has adjusted to life in Tylertown and is ready to forge ahead with plans for her future and a brand new friend!

 

Trudy Phillips, Headline Year picks up literally where the first book left off.  For those who may not remember,  Trudy not only made friends with the very popular Gloria Holden, but she welcomed her into her home (as Gloria's parents were never really present, leaving the young teen by herself most of the time).  Now, as this book opens, Trudy is helping Gloria carry her many suitcases into the Phillips home, where Gloria will share a room with Trudy.  Quite frankly, this book is almost as much about Gloria and her growth as it is about Trudy's.  One would think that after finally admitting her loneliness by the end of the previous book, Gloria would have been somewhat humbled - but, no, in this book, Trudy finds herself at odds with her new friend a/k/a roommate a/k/a "sister," as Gloria has taken a dislike to Trudy's dog, Tucker, and even worse, she has a clear disdain for Alice Johnson, the new girl at school!  Trudy finds herself caught between the two, as she remembers what it was like to be the new girl (after all, that was just in the last book!), and she wants to make Alice feel welcome, but at the same time, she does not want to alienate Gloria after spending most of the last book trying to win her friendship!

 

Bates takes the characters from Christmas, through the New Year, on to Valentine's Day, before reaching the end during the St. Patrick's Day celebration - and during that time, Trudy and her friends face a number of challenges.  When one of the journalism students moves away, there is a spot open on the school's newspaper, The Sentinel, and Trudy decides she wants to try for the position.  She manages to win the coveted spot, and now finds she must learn to balance her time between school, the newspaper, her dog, her family, and her friends! And speaking of her dog ... poor Tucker has his own set of challenges, as Trudy desperately tries to train him, but finds herself at a loss to teach the dog to obey.  The shy new girl takes a liking to Tucker and agrees to help, but she is frightened away time and again by Gloria's actions towards her, as well as towards the dog.  Then there is the overcrowding on the school busses and in the lunch room that leads to a student revolt, inadvertently spurred on by the school paper!  On top of all of this, there are two mysteries that weave their way through the story:  (1) who is the anonymous writer who provides the paper with some well-written and though provoking articles, and (2) why does Alice always  wear a turban and never invited anyone to her house?

 

The various storylines provide Bates with plenty of opportunity for drama and teen angst, particularly since these kids are just at the age where they are starting to like the opposite sex.  Thus, everyone is worried about dates for the New Year's parties, for the Valentine's Day dance, as well as for the St. Patrick's Day celebration.  I, for one, was glad to see Trudy remains faithful to her glasses-wearing, college-level word spouting friend, Steve (the two of them made it to the cover of the book!), and does not fall sway to Alice's rather handsome older brother - a young man who Gloria sets her eyes on!  I also enjoyed reading Trudy's repeated attempts to make friends with Alice, despite her constant brush-offs and her secretive nature surrounding her family and her turban.  The mystery surrounding the latter is actually revealed about half-way through the book, and it is Trudy's mother who uncovers the reason the girls is always wearing something over her hair (p. 173).  I won't spoil it, but let's just say the reason given is factually accurate, as I did some research to see if it was real or not - and it was definitely real!

 

The student strike due to overcrowding was a bit much, as I can't imagine any school, particularly back in the 1950s, would have so easily given in to student demands when most of the school walks out and begins to picket rather than attending class.  Perhaps I am looking back with rose-colored glasses, but it seems to me that school authorities (principals, teachers, administration, etc.) had a much more firm control over the student body than to allow what takes place in this book.  And I do realize that a lot of it was for dramatic purposes, and part of it was a fictionalized telling of what junior high school students would probably love to be able to do in order to get their way.  At least Bates gave her title character and her friends some backbone to stand up to the strikers and find a way to get everyone back in class before things get too far out of hand. 

 

One surprise I found while reading the book was a pop culture reference, when Alice finally invites Trudy over to her house and they listen to some records - including a "new" version of "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" by Frank Bye (p. 259).   While the song is definitely a real one, made famous by The Platters back in the late 1950s (four years AFTER this book was published!), and was covered by numerous artists thereafter, I was unable to find any version by someone named "Frank Bye."  The first recorded version was by Gertrude Niesen in 1933, then recorded by Nat "King" Cole in 1946, and after that, it was performed in the 1952 film adaptation of Roberta.  Numerous others have covered the song since.

 

Dorothy Grider once again provides the art for this book.  The end pages are the same as the first book, with all of the students milling outside of the school and Trudy running up to the steps on her first day at the new school.  The illustrations feature black and white line drawings with splashes of color, either pink or a pastel blue/green. Nearly every chapter has an illustration to complement the story taking place therein, and while there is nothing too exciting in the scenes (after all, this is not a fast-paced Stratemeyer series book that is dependent on lots of action and cliffhangers!), it is fun to see some of the choices made - from Trudy and Gloria carrying all of Gloria's things into the Phillips house to Alice's budding affection for Trudy's dog (in no less than three of the illustrations!) to couples at the various parties.  One particular illustration I thought was well done was where Trudy is upset by her father's reaction regarding the events unfolding at her school (p. 209) - I felt Grider really captured Trudy's emotion exceptionally well on the girl's face, such that it was clear to see just how upset she was without even having to read the story!

 

It's rather a shame this series ended with this second book.  Sure, they are not the most exciting stories in the world, but they are fun with some endearing characters that quickly grow on you (yes, even Gloria).  Trudy, Spooky, Gloria, Doug, Steve, Mike, Ginger, and now Alice - a better group of friends you are unlikely to find in any other series book!

 

RATING:  8 heavy white wool mittens out of 10 for expressing the ups and downs of a teenagers life with realistic and fictional drama woven into an engaging story that never drags nor bores! 

Trudy Phillips, New Girl - the first Trudy Phillips book

This series is the first "malt shop" series that I've read (even though I have quite a few of them in my collection).  For those unfamiliar with the term, "malt shop books" refers to books from the mid-20th Century with female protagonists that addressed teen problems in a very clean, wholesome way.  Many were romances and/or career girl stories, but some (like this one) feature a certain element of mystery.  Popular authors from this genre were Janet Lambert, Rosamond du Jardin (my mother's favorite author when she was a teenager), among others.  Whitman Publishing actually published several series in this genre:  Donna Parker, Ginny Gordon, Polly French, and our very own Trudy Phillips.  Trudy only had two books, while Polly had three, Ginny had five and Donna beat them all with seven books in her series.  Since poor Trudy only had two, I figured I would start with hers.

 

Trudy Phillips, New Girl was written by Barbara (S.) Bates (1919 - 2002).  According to the Pennsylvania Center for the Book, Bates was a prolific author, penning quite a few books before her death in 2002, both in the realms of fiction and non-fiction.  In addition, Bates also authored articles about books for literary journals. (Author - Barbara S. Bates) Surprisingly, her books for young readers were published under her own name, rather than a house pseudonym.  The two Trudy Phillips books appear to be the only two she wrote for Whitman Publishing.

 

This first book of the two-book series introduces readers to  14-year old Trudy Phillips, whose family has recently moved to Tylertown where her father has been transferred by his job.  Trudy is very unhappy, as she is having to start a new school.  She bemoans the fact that at her previous school, she was very popular and was a shoe-in as class president for the year.  Now, as a "new girl," she would not know anyone and would have to catch upon several weeks of school work she missed due to the move.  The story's focus is on Trudy's status as the "new girl" at school, the problems she faces, the difficulties she overcomes, the friendships (and enemies!) she makes, and the successes she enjoys as she navigates this new school and its students.  While the book does feature a minor mystery involving various thefts of money, that is more of a sub-plat than the main story.

 

Bates provides Trudy with quite a large supporting cast - besides her parents (Mr. and Mrs. Phillips), there is her younger brother Johnny, a precocious red-headed prankster; there is "Spooky" Ruddle (a/k/a Gwen Ruddle), a young tom-boyish girl in her class who quickly becomes her best friend; there is Mike, the foreign boy who is also new to the school and shares Trudy's concerns about people liking him; there is Stephen, the class nerd who is everyone's go-to if they need help with classes; there is Doug, the editor of the school newspaper; then there are Susan, Ginger, Debby, Dick, Bob, Cynthia, and plenty of other classmates, including Gloria Holden -  the most beautiful, most talented, and most popular girl in the class, who always knows how to make an entrance and who is always the center of attention.  Trudy decides right away she would like to get to know Gloria and hopefully become friends with her.  And this is how the story begins...

 

The book finds Trudy facing any number of teenage problems - from being the only one not invited to Gloria Holden's big party (to be held on Halloween, the same day Spooky holds her annual birthday party!) to inadvertently beating Gloria during a class debate, making an immediate enemy of the girl.  She also must figure out a way to save up $20 in order to purchase this puppy from the town's pet store, while at the same time working on the class play, worrying about whether anyone will ask her to the Thanksgiving dance, and deciding whether she should run for class secretary, as all her friends want her to do.  In addition to all of these, Trudy is also determined to make friends with Gloria, even going so far as to invite her to a party she throws, over all of her friends' objections (which causes a brief rift between Spooky and her).

 

The mystery asserts itself in various places throughout the book.  Money from the ticket sales for the play goes missing.  Stephen's envelope filled with his savings to buy a new bike disappears from his locker.  Debby loses her silver dollar at the school dance.  Money from the school store's cash box is taken.  The more incidents that occur, the more it becomes obvious that one of the students is stealing money.  Stephen and Trudy work with one of the teachers to try and set a trap for the thief, but that goes awry, and the money used as bait disappears, but the thief is nowhere to be seen.  The mystery is not really that difficult (from the very first theft, it was obvious who was doing it and why), but it does add a unique element to the story (and since I'm more of a mystery reader than a romance reader, it definitely made reading this book more enjoyable!).

 

Something I thought was interesting was Bates gave Trudy a "collection of foreign dolls" in her room (p. 32).  It's not too often you come across a series book character who is a collector, and particularly, as in this instance, someone who collects foreign dolls.  It immediately brought to mind the Nancy Drew book, The Clue in the Old Album, as well as the Meg book, Mystery in Williamsburg, both of which featured mysteries that centered around doll collections.  Only, in this book, the dolls are mentioned in passing and never become a part of the story.  Leaves one to wonder why Bates even mentions them at all, unless it is to give Trudy a stronger feminine side to her character (since collecting dolls could be seen as more of a female hobby).

 

The book is illustrated by Dorothy Grider (1915 - 2012), who happens to be a Kentucky native (my home state!).  She got her BA at Western Kentucky State College and went on to study art in Paris.  Grider illustrated a large number of children's books, including the Trudy Phillips books for Whitman.  Her two-page endpapers depicts a scene that coincides with the cover art (also provided by Grider, based on what I was able to discern online) - both scenes reflect Trudy's arrival of her first day at Tylertown Junior High School (finally! endpapers that do not spoil any of the story, as so many of Whitman's books seem to do!).  The endpapers show her hurrying towards the front doors, with groups of students standing around (and it's amazing how easily one can pick out the various characters in their scene, as Grider definitely utilized the character descriptions for her art - with Dick talking to Gloria on the bottom right, while Steven is chatting with Ginny (or Debby) on the bottom left side, while Mike and Spooky are hurrying through the gate).  The brightly colored cover shows the same scene moments later, as Trudy climbs those front steps, with Steven and Spooky seated on the steps and Mike leaning against the wall.  Trudy is even wearing the red sweater and plaid skirt (p. 11) described in the book.  The cover wraps around to the back, where we find Gloria talking with one boy, while another is watching them from the window.  

 

While I've seen mixed reviews about the book online, I rather enjoyed the story.  The mix of theater and mystery, swirled around with all of the other teen antics, made for a rather fun drama.  And I actually found myself identifying with characteristics from several of the characters, which endeared me to pretty much all of them (except Gloria - the typical mean girl!).  Overall, I think this was a great introduction to the Malt Shop Book genre, and I am looking forward to reading the second book in this series.

RATING:  8 yards of glimmering brocade in the palest shade out of 10 for terrific tale of teen angst, romance, mystery, parties, theater, elections, and everything else that would make for an enjoyable read!