Love Problems and Advice, Illustrated #1

A young woman working her way through business school lands a prestigious position as secretary to Joel Avery, the charming head of a prestigious architectural firm—a job that transforms her life with a generous salary, polish, and unexpected romance. But when Tom Masters, the firm's newest and most irreverent member, enters her world, Joan finds herself caught between the security and refinement that Joel offers and a raw, undeniable attraction that threatens everything she's built. Forced to choose between the comfortable future she's secured and the passionate pull of something entirely different, she must reckon with what her heart truly wants.

Betty Jane is a sixteen-year-old girl who meets Bill Foster at a school dance and quickly falls head over heels for him—so much so that when he proposes, she's ready to say yes. But her strict parents put their foot down, insisting she's too young to marry, while Bill pushes for them to wed right away, leaving Betty Jane caught between the boy she loves and the guidance of her family. This earnest 1949 tale explores what it really means to know your own heart when you're still so young.

Jane Parr came to the big city determined to become an air hostess—and just as determined to keep men out of her life after a hardscrabble childhood left her bitter toward the opposite sex. When a charming flight instructor catches her eye during her first training flight, she finds her resolve tested, especially when a smooth-talking stranger named Ronald Ames enters the picture and threatens to complicate everything. As Jane navigates her feelings and the advice of those around her, she'll discover whether her walls can survive what comes next.

Winnie the waitress repeatedly turns down the persistent advances of Lester de Fang, but when he finally wears her down into a date, she hatches a scheme to teach the wolf a lesson—parading him past furniture displays, wedding rings, and a justice of the peace to make him sweat. What starts as payback takes an unexpectedly comic turn when Lester's own instincts kick in.

A young farm girl stuck between her strict parents' old-fashioned ways and her desperate wish to fit in at high school faces a choice when a sympathetic classmate encourages her to pursue the modern look and freedom her peers enjoy. With each small rebellion—a new haircut, fashionable clothes, a stolen afternoon of fun—she risks her father's wrath, but finds herself caught between the life she's been forced to live and the one she's determined to claim. Can she bridge the gap between duty and desire, or will the cost of breaking free prove too high?

Nancy Wales has dreamed of becoming an actress since childhood, but the road from dramatic school honors to stardom proves far tougher than she imagined—until a chance collision with Johnny Day, a studio engineer, forces her to confront what really matters. As Nancy finally lands her audition opportunity, a crisis puts her ambitions to the test in ways she never expected. A poignant 1949 tale about a young woman learning that some things matter more than the spotlight.