Chalk one up for permissive parents and their independent offspring. . . but not without a struggle. Fed up with a haphazard...

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ANNIE ANNIE

Chalk one up for permissive parents and their independent offspring. . . but not without a struggle. Fed up with a haphazard household and deciding for herself, Annie (about thirteen) takes a sleep-in summer job with the conventional, conservative Sigbys, countering her parents desultory references to her age and inexperience with a caustic ""Mr. and Mrs. Sigby said they'd tell me what to do."" And for some weeks she revels in the strict regimen, so much like envied best friend Migs' and so unlike home--as she impresses upon her family on her days off. But then the Higbys' visiting daughter, a granite copy of her parents, and the Higbys themselves--in their animus toward offbeat ""Awful"" Jones--show her the niggardly side of oh-so-nicety. After wrestling with her own angel (the Higbys are great Bible readers), she's ready to live and let live--like her mother and father. ""Call me Jacob,"" the last chapter is called, and no meaning remains hidden here; but in its spare fashion it's a wry, recognizable, often hilarious portrait of a progressive family tottering on principle.

Pub Date: May 16, 1969

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1969

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