Customer Reviews

The Education of Bet

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Not a new idea, but a great story none the less. Elisabeth, "Bet", wants an education and her friend Will doesn't, he wants to join the military. So Bet devises a plan where she will take his place at a new school while he goes off to join the military. Based in the 1,800's this is a time in England where only young men were allowed to go to school. How will a young girl pull off living amongst 500 young men who are all seeking an education?

Well, the story is well written and is a very quick read. You will be drawn into the characters immediately. They are easy to get to know, well described, very detailed and very realistic.

I think that while the stories plot line is a girl impersonating a boy the real story is different. The real story is this, our dreams do not always become our reality. Bet dreams of school as being an idealistic place where boys go to gain their education and that is the sole reason they are there. She is shocked to find out that "boys will be boys" and that means that education may be the furthest thing from their thoughts and daily actions. The details of the daily life at the school are well played out. The problems of bullies and weaklings is also well spelled out.

Will on the other hand finds that the Military is not as glorious as he thought it would be. His dreams of greatness and valor are not exactly what he finds.

The story spends very little time with Will (actually we only know about him through a letter). He doesn't really come back into play until the very end.

But, Bet is who we fall in love with, we love her determination, her desire to learn, her willingness to show loyalty and valor to those that she befriends in the school. Not to mention there is a good bit of tension in living arrangements as Bet learns that she has to room with another boy!

Well, enough said. The plot is easy to follow, but you will be drawn into the story easily and not want to put the book down. I found it an easy read on a very raining 4th of July!

Enjoy.

Bet comes into the world with the odds already stacked against her. Her mother is an unmarried maid in a 19th-century English mansion. When she is just four years old, her mother falls ill with typhoid and dies. But Bet isn't the only one in the house who is orphaned from typhoid. Four-year-old Will, the son of the master of the house, loses both of his parents. When Will's great uncle arrives to adopt him, he learns of Bet and decides to adopt her as well, saving her from the horrid orphanage. Bet's future finally begins to brighten.

Bet and Will are raised like brother and sister in Will's rich great uncle's home. When they get older, Will must attend boarding school, while Bet takes on some of the household chores, like polishing silver. She is the lowly daughter of a maid, after all. But her benefactor refuses to group her in with the servants, preferring instead to keep her close and have her read to him as his eyesight gradually worsens. Bet loves to read and dreams of learning more. She is envious of Will's schooling opportunities, but unfortunately society frowns upon the education of women.

Then Will gets expelled from yet another boarding school. He detests school and would prefer the adventurous life found in the military. But following that dream would only break his great uncle's heart, so he tries to face starting the next term at another new school. Then Bet has an ingenious idea, one that would allow them both the chance to pursue their dreams. Will would enlist in the military, while Bet takes his place at school --- disguised as a young man. Neither is prepared for the challenges and hurdles they are about to face, especially when Bet starts to fall in love with her roommate. Following one's dreams can take a person to the most unsuspected --- and amazing --- destinations.

THE EDUCATION OF BET is clever, fun and spirited, and Lauren Baratz-Logsted has done an excellent job creating this memorable work of historical fiction. She has a wonderful writing talent that places the right words in just the right places for a magical flow. Throughout the story, she introduces essential ideas, like the importance of pursuing one's dreams, working and playing hard, never giving up, and standing by one's friends. She creates the perfect character to pursue these ideas with the high-spirited Bet, who is determined, intelligent, friendly, ambitious, courageous, funny and likable, even in her failures and shortcomings. The words and pages fly by with ease, with this enticing story coming to an end far too quickly.

The novel offers suspense, romance, danger, deceit and humor all wrapped up in a cleverly written package. Three cheers for Lauren Baratz-Logsted and her latest effort; this one's a keeper!

--- Reviewed by Chris Shanley-Dillman

Bet lives with family, but she's not quite family but not quite a servant either. She's in between and for the most part she's happy. However, she longs for a chance to become educated.

While Will comes home disgraced from yet another school, Bet attempts to understand why he doesn't like formal education. When she asks him, he confesses that he'd like to join the army. Immediately, Bet recognizes a golden opportunity for both of them to achieve their dreams.

As Will must attend a new school after summer, she volunteers to go in his place leaving him free to join the army. Bet and Will spend the summer turning into a boy. Then they go their separate ways.

Will forgot to mention a few nuggets of information such as roommates, and bullies. Bet must figure out how to fool her roommate, not let the bullies intimidate her, and study without drawing attention to herself and giving away her secret identity. Can she pull off the biggest scam, especially when she falls for her roommate?

My Thoughts: This reminds of Amanda Bynes' movie She's the Man -but without the soccer. I loved this book - Bet was clever, funny, and willing to take her life into her own hands. I found myself laughing at her snarky remarks and rooting for her all the way. I also really loved the nurse.

The 1800s were not a good time for women in want of an education, as young Bet well knows. Inspired by her desire to learn, Bet jumps at the opportunity to attend boarding school. The only catch? Bet must disguise herself as her cousin Will in order to gain admittance. Donning the garb of a young man and lowering the pitch of her voice, Bet believes she will have no trouble blending in. But boys will be boys, as the old adage says, and Bet soon learns it takes more to be a boy than a swaggering walk. She soon finds herself struggling to navigate the unspoken social rules of boys, but her biggest challenge arises when she realizes she has fallen in love with her roommate.

I didn't intend to finish this book so quickly. I planned on going to sleep at a perfectly reasonable time. I got in bed and thought to myself, "I'll just read the first chapter." Pfft, famous last words of readers everywhere! Well, one chapter turned into two, which turned into three, and then four. By the time I realized how late it had gotten I was so invested in Bet's story that I decided to just ignore the clock and read until the end.

And what an ending! But wait, I'm getting ahead of myself. I should start at the beginning. Bet captured my heart from the very first. She's sweet and loyal with a backbone of steel. Bet saw an opportunity and she seized it, despite all the dangers and all of the arguments to the contrary. I admired her bravery, but I also adored her for her weaknesses. Bet begins the book as a terribly naïve and sheltered girl. She expects boys to behave one way, but soon realizes her assumptions were very wrong. She is charmingly stubborn at first, but eventually she learns to adapt to these realities and triumph over them.

Then there is James, Bet's roommate. I can completely understand why Bet fell for him. He is so sweet and attentive, but also admirable in that he always stays true to himself. James early on recognizes Bet's oddities and decides to take her under his wing to protect her from bullies. Of course James believes Bet to be Will, and so his acceptance of Bet's strange ways is all the more noble. In this manner, we see that James is not simply nice to Bet because he finds her attractive, but rather because he is a good person.

The supporting "good" characters are beyond charming. I loved them. They sometimes seemed a little too good to believe, but that didn't bother me one bit. They were the type of people I'd fantasize about if I were to picture a "perfect" cast with myself as the star. Loving, supporting, understanding, accepting, helpful, and fun. This was a happy book through and through, and I loved that. This is the kind of book that warms my heart, makes me smile, and earns itself a spot on the Special Shelf.

This happiness is what I liked best about The Education of Bet. The characters nestled their way into my heart. With each passing scene I felt the smile on my face growing wider and wider. I had to stifle giggles to make sure I didn't wake anyone. Each scene was perfectly crafted in a way that was both entirely relatable (in emotion, if not in situation- though wouldn't that situation be fun?) and wholly enjoyable to read. I wasn't expecting much from such a short book, but I am happy to say I totally underestimated Bet and her story.

As the daughter of a maid and an unknown father, Elizabeth (Bet) Smith occupied a rather low position on the social scale. Bet remembered living with her mother in the maid's quarters in the house of a wealthy couple and their son Will. When both her mother and the couple died of typhoid, an even richer relation took Will and Bet to live with him. Although the uncle treated her well, Bet felt acutely aware that she belonged to neither the family nor the servants.

Bet dreamed of gaining a formal education, a privilege to which girls were not entitled in nineteenth-century England. Her intellect and spunk served her well, though, when she came up with the scheme of disguising herself as a boy and taking Will's place at the new boarding school he was supposed to attend. Will preferred to enlist in the military, against his uncle's wishes, so the idea seemed like a win-win situation. Neither anticipated the extent to which Bet's education would involve more than classroom learning as she encountered rampant bullying, extracurricular activities in which she had no previous skills, and an extremely handsome roommate.

Oozing with wit and charm, this novel places an old idea (girl pretends to be boy and falls in love) into a historical setting in which girls had no rights and boys with money enjoyed a rather privileged life. The romance and action work well together to enchant even those readers who otherwise might avoid historical fiction.

What a fun book! The EDUCATION OF BET took me totally by surprise. The storyline caught my interest, but it was the actual book that kept me turning the pages.

Elizabeth "Bet" was the daughter of the manor help. Will was the son of the lord of the manor. They were born into the same house, but never interacted. At least not until they were both orphaned and Will's uncle took them in.

.

Bet is stuck between two worlds - that of servant and that of almost family. Will is still privileged but tossing away his education. He's been kicked out of four schools and his uncle has given him one last chance. Bet would give anything for the educational opportunities that Will is just throwing away. Will, on the other hand, wants nothing more than to join the military. But being the only remaining heir, it would kill his uncle to allow Will to sign up.

It's with this knowledge that Bet hatches her crazy scheme. She convinces Will to let her take his place at his new school. If Will can help her walk and talk and act like a boy, she can assume his identity and he can join the military.

The two come up with a workable plan, and everything starts off smoothly.

But there are things that Bet didn't account for upon arriving at school. Least of all is her attraction to her roommate, James.

From that point on, you can imagine the situation. It all gets far more complicated, and getting to the ending is half the fun. Don't let the fact that THE EDUCATION OF BET may be classified as "historical" in genre put you off. It may take place in the past, but the style is easy to read and applicable to any time period. This was so different from the other books I've read by Ms. Baratz-Logsted, but it was just as enjoyable, if not more so, than those others.

Reviewed by: Jaglvr

I absolutely loved this book! I loved everything about it: the characters, the story, the writing, the list goes on and on. This book was so cute and I loved Bet's voice.

I loved reading about all of Bet's adventures at schools while she was pretending to be a boy. This was so much fun to read. I also kept waiting for her to get caught. Bet falls for her roommate, who thinks she is a boy, and that is absolutely priceless watching them. I absolutely loved her roommate, James. He was definately swoonworthy. At first, you don't really know what to think of him, but as the book goes on he really grows as a character and you see him and "Will" really start to become good friends. Mrs. Smithers was another character I really liked. At first, I figured she'd be a stern lady with not much character to her, but I was very wrong. She was one of my favorite characters of the book!

I do wish we had gotten to hear a bit more of the story. The Education of Bet was only 192 pages, so there was no length issue of going longer. Don't delay, go get this book and read it as soon as you can!

If I was a twelve year old girl again, I would really love this book. The intelligent, determined young lady rebels against the constraints of society by disguising herself as a boy and attending a boys' school. I can imagine how my heart would have gone pitter patter at the secret romance. Appropriate for tweens or teens, this gift would be the perfect gift for a young romantic. Harmless and enjoyably written.

THE EDUCATION OF BET took me completely by surprise! Before this novel, I'd never read anything by Lauren Baratz-Logsted, but I was intrigued by the description.

I found the lengths Bet and Will go to in order to disguise Bet as a boy entertaining. I was skeptical that Baratz-Logsted would be able to make this aspect of the novel believable, but I actually found it very convincing. I especially loved that there were adults at the school aiding Bet in her quest for an education.

It was inspiring to see Bet fight so hard for something she wanted... something other than a boy. Don't get me wrong, I love a good romance, but it was refreshing to see the main character so passionate about something else. It definitely reminded me how lucky I am to have the opportunity to go to school... with all the stress, homework, and insane costs, it's easy to forget that.

But wait! There's romance too! Which, honestly, I should have anticipated, but I really hadn't. It was interesting an interesting and memorable romance, since, during the development of the romance, Bet is still disguised as Will. Understandably, this leads to some awkward moments, but Baratz-Logsted did a wonderful job making their story believable.

Historical fiction is one of my absolute favorite genres. I love the names, the clothes, the facts, the settings.. everything is so interesting and different. The Education of Bet not only introduced readers to these things in Victorian England, but also let them really feel what it was like to be a girl in this time.

Bet was an inspiring and strong willed character. She knew what she wanted- an education- and would do anything to get it. Many students today take education for granted and wish they didn't even have to go. Bet made me feel that much more grateful that, in today's society, girls have the opportunity to get an education. Not only was Bet brave, she was also a sweet and caring person. Her love for her Uncle and friends shown from the pages and she just wanted the best for everyone. The other characters; Will, James, Uncle, Little... they all seemed so believable and real.

The plot was fantastic and so original. In the spirit of Mulan, The Education of Bet proved just how far some girls will go to have the opportunities men did. Bet lived with her Uncle and "brother in spirit" Will, and when Will expressed interest in joining the military, Bet cooked up her scheme to switch places with him. Disguising herself as Will, Bet enrolled in a new school and told her Uncle she was off to work for a new family. The majority of the novel took place with Bet disguised as a boy and I loved every minute of it. Her trials and triumphs were funny and, at times, difficult, and I really felt for her. There are a lot of twists in the plot and a few surprises along the way that keep the reader engaged and entertained.

Even though Bet is disguised as a male for the majority of the novel, she still manages to find romance by the end. The guy she falls for is sweet, brave, and a likable character. He is so protective of Bet and I love the ending!

Overall, The Education of Bet was a romantic, exciting, and well written novel that left me eager to read more of Lauren Baratz-Logsted's work. This was a short read, but is filled with a great story.

Overall: 4.5 out of 5 stars