Showing posts with label Jordon Family series. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jordon Family series. Show all posts

Confusion by Cupid by Janet Lambert (1950)

Gwenn Jordon missed no opportunity to remind her step-brother, Peter, that his favorite girl, Tippy Parrish, had found a great admirer in young Lieutenant Prescott in Germany, and as the present story opens Peter is thoroughly mad. Especially at women. If it had not been for Alice, his other step-sister, he didn't know just what he would do. Of course, there was a pretty little lass from out of town, but just how much did she count?

Meanwhile Gwenn and Alice went to a house party at Bill Hanley's where Alice was to have been the guest of honor. Gwenn, however, having just fallen out with her own fiancé, decided to get even with him by making herself the belle of the house party.

After that what happened? Was Alice, sweet, reliable Alice, able to extricate her thoughtless sister from a wretched situation that jeopardized the happiness of two families? And presently just how did Bobby Parrish feel when he found Alice admitting that Jon Drayton (remember Christy Drayton's brother?) was an awfully nice chap? And what finally became of the lad to whom Gwenn had been engaged? Truly--all was confusion--with Cupid hanging his head in discouragement.

All ends well though, as it always does in Janet Lambert's inimitable stories for girls, with all the characters settling finally into their perfect if unpredictable positions in the intricate pattern woven for them. (from the inside flap)

Confusion by Cupid opens with Peter Jordon in a drugstore, stewing about an argument he had with his sister Gwenn, where she tries to get him to go out with her friend, despite his continuing devotion to Tippy Parrish. He meets Maxsie in the drugstore and:

Re-Reading Janet Lambert (Part Two - The Tippy and Alcie Years)

The world is still slightly too much with me, so I am spending my August re-reading and writing about the books of Janet Lambert. So far, I've made my way through the first ten or so in the locket series, which comprises the army-life adventures of the Parrish and Jordon families (as well as a little Candy Kane thrown in).

The first part of this reading project took me through the adventures of Penny Parrish as she grows up, finds her career, marries producer/playwright Josh MacDonald and starts a family. We also meet Carrol, Penny's rich and beautiful friend who marries Penny's brother David and starts a family of her own. We also get introduced to the Jordons, and Jenifer, the eldest, who takes care of the whole large and complicated  family.

Re-reading Janet Lambert (Part One)

The first ten Janet Lamberts, or so.
(from the author's collection, hee)
The world is slightly too much with me, so I am spending my August re-reading and writing about the books of Janet Lambert. In addition to the detailed posts on each novel, I'm updating this post as I make my way through the series.

Although Janet Lambert has written a ton of books (Stories about teenagers...written specially for teenagers), her books about the Parrish, Jordon and the Kane families are the books I've loved since I was a child. Set (and written) during World War II and after, they encompass the world of the U.S. Army as well as the world of American Theater. What could be better?

Friday's Child by Janet Lambert (1947)

Alice Jordon was a typical "Friday's child" for she was "loving and giving," especially where her sister Gwenn, vain, selfish and clever, was concerned. Another "Friday's child" in the huge Jordon family was the eldest sister, Jenifer. Jenifer held the family together and Alice, happy, completely unself-conscious, was her able lieutenant.

Just Jenifer by Janet Lambert (1945)

With Just Jenifer, Janet Lambert introduces the Jordon family to her readers. As the book opens, sixteen-year-old Jenifer Jordon is taking care of her many brothers and sisters in Orlando. Her father General Jordon is off in Italy fighting in the war. Things get increasingly complicated when their housekeeper has to leave for a family emergency, and Jenifer is left to care for the family alone.

Love Taps Gently by Janet Lambert (1955)

Charming, lovable Susan Jordon, whose longing for a home was happily satisfied in A Dream for Susan, is now sixteen and even better able to cope with the disturbing family crises which develop so unexpectedly. The manner in which Susan and the Jordon family as a whole, meet these crises, forms the plot of this appealing story.

The Jordons' life at Gladstone Gates has settled into a happy routine. Neal, Susan's twin, and young Vance are working for the summer on the Parrishs' estate. Although General Jordon, now a business executive rather than an Army officer, is disturbed by his erratic step-daughter Gwenn's threat to sue him for mismanagement of her inheritance, he is trying to keep the three younger children from knowing of the unpleasant development. With everyone apparently happy, Susan is enjoying a mild flirtation with her other half-sister Alice's young brother-in-law, Keith Drayton. Keith proves a source of constant irritation to Bobby Parrish, whose career as an Army Lieutenant has done little to dampen his light-hearted exuberance. As far as he is concerned, Susan is his property, and his attitude is causing Susan some uneasiness. All of the Jordons miss the youngest daughter, Bitsy, who for five years has been living in England with her oldest sister, Jennifer and her husband, Cyril, Lord Carlington.

When suddenly Bitsy returns to America, a cold, self-centered thirteen-year-old; and when Gwenn explodes on the family unexpectedly and collapses into a serious illness, the Jordons find that both problems can be solved with gentle understanding and love. Bobby Parrish surprises everyone by his own surprising contribution and even Bitsy comes to realize that love is a gentle giving, rather than an insistent demand.

Readers who are meeting the Jordons for the first time will be enchanted with this delightful family. Those to whom the Jordons are old friends, will be gratified that Susan's summer ends happily, after all! (from the inside flap)

A Bright Tomorrow by Janet Lambert (1965)

In New York, a city of eight million, Bitsy Jordon could be alone. She took art classes in the mornings, and, with her portfolio under her arm, hounded publishers' offices in the afternoons. And she always loved coming home to her quiet one-room apartment. After growing up in a large family, Bitsy hugged her new-found privacy and independence to her.

But when tragedy struck the Jordon family, Bitsy suddenly realized she needed other people, and that friends couldn't be turned on and off like water faucets. As the roommate of two young career girls, Bitsy discovered that sharing problems, as well as joys, was illuminating and often very helpful.

Janet Lambert, the popular author of more than forty books for teen-age girls, has written a moving yet ebullient story. The delights and the sorrows of being a member of a big family and the frustrations and rewards of pursuing a career in one of the world's most exhilarating cities are sensitively portrayed and Bitsy herself emerges as a sympathetic and charming heroine. (from the inside flap)

Wedding Bells by Janet Lambert (1961)

"You can't keep me a prisoner in my own--afraid to go see my own sister, or to have her family come to see me. If I marry you, Bobby, trust has to work both ways!" It's only a week till the wedding. And it looks as if Susan Jordon and Bobby Parrish's marriage may be ended before it begins! (from the back cover)

The Stars Hang High by Janet Lambert (1960)

"I'm not going to the Orient with you and Daddy," Bitsy Jordon says firmly. "I'm going to stay right here." Who's turn down a marvelous trip like that? Only a girl who wants to fight her battles on home ground: battles for friends, for a job of her own, for being somebody besides Susan Jordon's little sister! (from the back cover)

Myself & I by Janet Lambert (1957)

In spite of her youth, eighteen-year-old Susan Jordon has always responded to the demands of her large family, even when it meant giving up something she herself desired.

Now Susan has reached a critical point in her life. She has decided that her own individuality must express itself--that "myself" and "I" are more important than "ourselves" and "we." She must find a way to release her "real self."

But the sensitive Susan soon discovers that it is difficult to be firm, when for so long she has been acquiescent. Susan's resolution of her problem and her response to the demands of exuberant Bobby Parrish make a delightful story for all girls who themselves desire an opportunity to express their own personalities.

Join Susan as she travels from Gladstone to West Point, then straight into a trap set by Bobby Parrish at Fort Knox, and finally home again to start her first job and learn that life cannot be lived happily without other people. (from the inside flap)

A Dream for Susan by Janet Lambert (1954)

Susan Jordon simply could not believe her ears! All her life she had dreamed of having a home and family like her friends. Going to Turkey with Dad and keeping house for him had seemed like a dream come true. But now General Jordon was calling to say he had to go to Japan instead, and once more Susan was to be thrust back into the boarding school she loathed.

But there's much to be said about wanting something badly enough. And when a girl has a twin brother like Neal and an older sister like Alice, she can't feel miserable and homeless for very long.

First, Neal has a wonderful idea to be followed by an even better one from none other than Tippy Parrish's mother. With the whole Parrish clan joining forces with the Jordons to help Susan realize her dream, she soon finds herself with a home, a family, and a very ardent admirer.

Janet Lambert has a very special touch when it comes to the people she loves. Her books are chock-full of wonderful, fun-loving, very-much-alive young people, and Susan Jordon is one of the most charming and lovable of them all. (from the inside flap)