Young Adult Literature without Apology

Amy's assessment of contemporary young adult literature, organized by author and title, censored by noone.

Realistic | Romance | Science Fiction | Historical Fiction | Fantasy | Horror | Mystery

Daly, Maureen (1942, 2002). Seventeenth Summer. NY: Simon Pulse. ISBN: 0-671-61931-4. 291 pages, $5.99

Seventeen-year-old Angie Morrow has never been in love. When, during the summer following her senior year in high school, Angie meets Jack, she opens her heart for the first time and wonders if it will have to end when she leaves for college. "Seventeenth Summer" is a light romance with definite feminine appeal; the equally developed secondary plot, the use of rich, more descriptive language, and the emphasis on mood and the inner world of the main character might make this novel less appealing to a younger reader interested primarily in movement or action. Fans of Beverly Cleary's "Fifteen" or "Jean and Johnny" will enjoy this similarly voiced (and historically placed) novel.