BEHAVE YOURSELF, BETHANY BRANT

by Patricia Beatty ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 15, 1986

Beatty is noted for feisty heroines in carefully researched novels set in frontier America. Here, Bethany, doing her best to conform to her preacher father's expectations, may seem at first like a new departure; but the way she follows her conscience demands a special, courageous independence, much in Beatty's usual vein. When Mama dies in childbirth, Pa takes Bethany and Abel to stay with relatives on a Texas ranch while he becomes a circuit rider. Since tomboy cousin Mattywill prefers outdoor work, Bethany is left to help Aunt Revs with housework and the baby. Uncomplaining but pining for the outdoors, she is repeatedly cast by adults as the good gift and, inevitably, is resented by Mattywill and the other children in school. But because Bethany is also fundamentally kind, honest, and (when driven to it) outspoken, she eventually wins their respect. Although lacking the lively plot and humor that characterize Beatty's best work, Bethany's story is briskly told and vividly evokes turn-of-the-century Texas, Just one question: Why did a train journey to a point 100 miles distant take two full days?

Pub Date: Oct. 15, 1986

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Morrow

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1986

Categories: CHILDREN'S