I'm about as anti-marriage, especially young marriage, as a person gets, but I still think this book is pretty cute as an historical artifact of mid-20th century suburban mores. I admire that Beverly Cleary could show a character's growth in such a short time period of fairly insignificant events, because that's how life actually works, especially for children. ( )

"She had felt sorry for the girls she had known who had married right after graduation from high school... But now...Barbara was beginning to change her attitude and to wonder if there was something she could do to speed up love. All she needed was a boy."

Barbara's older sister is getting married, and all the wedding and newlywed business has got Barbara's sixteen-year-old mind whirling in a poetic daydream. But she may have a thing or two to learn before the coming ceremony is over in Sister of the Bride, a novel by author Beverly Cleary.

Although it's the fourth book in the First Love series, I wouldn't at all call this book a romance. The bits of Barbara's pre-adventures with love are mostly on the fringes of the story here and there, and they follow something of a Jean and Johnny and The Luckiest Girl pattern.

This novel is mainly about wedding preparations and what Barbara learns and observes during the experience, especially what she learns about herself. I can see how I might've found the read more thrilling back when I was still looking forward to being sixteen, and rereading it now would've had that added dash of nostalgia. Instead, in reading it for the first time now, a good deal of it felt pretty slow, and, well, ordinary.

Still, the humor had me laughing, the lightness was delightful, and I could absolutely empathize with Barbara on various levels. The lover of old-fashioned fiction in me is quite content for having finally read this old-fashioned but relevant tale. ( )

Because it's by Cleary, and illustrated by the Krushes, I have read it.  But I have the same mixed feelings that I do about the other YA books by Cleary.  I hope they're dated - that girls don't think that baking cookies to bribe a boy to be a boyfriend is a good idea.  Otoh, Cleary's girls do, mostly, come to their senses about things like that, and I know the author understands universalities of human nature... so maybe it's not a bad thing if girls are still reading them.  They're certainly pleasant reading, mostly.  (In this one the bride of the title is 18 and the groom 24, and ppl think that's a good thing... I find it a little disturbing....) ( )

Not the best book ever, but pretty interesting to read about the Bay Area in the 60s like that. Also, all of the concerns about silver gifts that would have to be polished. ( )

Standard Cleary, always lovely. An excellent take on how other members of the family deal with a wedding and the related emotions and activity. Not overly sentimental. I wish I had gotten around to reading it when I was 15 instead of waiting until now! ( )