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eletricjb's review against another edition
3.0
Kind of delightfully quaint. That '70s slang makes it feel way more dated than anything I've ever read. Far out, man. Anyway, I wonder what I would have thought of this if I'd gotten my hands on it ten years ago. It's well-intentioned, but not very skillfully written. And there certainly isn't enough actual interaction between Jaret and Peggy to make it worthwhile. Really glad that Jaret didn't hesitate to name her attacker, though. Fuck that guy.
lilytucker's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
slc54hiwi's review against another edition
4.0
Somehow, I missed this YA title when I *was* a YA - probably I was busy re-reading MHL or Rosamund DuJardin!
This is an amazing book, all the more so since it was published 30 years ago. It's the story of two high school graduates - both female - who become lovers and then deal with a horrific aftermath that includes the sexual assault of one of them after a quarrel.
It's a bit of a period piece, given the slang and the wholesale adoption of early feminist phraseology, but still an amazing book. I wonder if it could even be published now, in a USA that has become far more right-wing and intolerant.
This is an amazing book, all the more so since it was published 30 years ago. It's the story of two high school graduates - both female - who become lovers and then deal with a horrific aftermath that includes the sexual assault of one of them after a quarrel.
It's a bit of a period piece, given the slang and the wholesale adoption of early feminist phraseology, but still an amazing book. I wonder if it could even be published now, in a USA that has become far more right-wing and intolerant.
swee's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
thegabecole's review against another edition
2.0
This...had a ton of problems. I’ll write a longer review when I get the chance.
icequeen13's review
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
lleullawgyffes's review
challenging
4.25
for starters: trigger warning for rape.
I'm having a hard time articulating anything about this book, but I'm going to try . I think the writing is occasionally a little clunky (especially at the beginning), but on the whole I think Scoppettone does a really good job, especially with the varied voices. I think there are moments where it gets a little preachy (as one might expect from a YA novel from 1978 about lesbians by a lesbian), but I also think it makes a very conscious effort to realistically portray a range of reactions, positive and negative and in between, to Jaret and Peggy being lesbians.
and, as other people have noted, it's not a punishment story. it does include (center on, even) a rape, and Scoppettone doesn't hold back either in writing that scene or in writing the aftermath — Jaret trying to deal with a traumatic experience, the legal system's prejudice against her both as a woman and as a lesbian, public reaction when she is outed by her rapist, etc.
but it doesn't give up, and it doesn't tell us Jaret deserved what she got. and it doesn't end with any of the classic tropes: there are no dead lesbians, and neither Jaret nor Peggy "goes back to being straight".
I'm having a hard time articulating anything about this book, but I'm going to try . I think the writing is occasionally a little clunky (especially at the beginning), but on the whole I think Scoppettone does a really good job, especially with the varied voices. I think there are moments where it gets a little preachy (as one might expect from a YA novel from 1978 about lesbians by a lesbian), but I also think it makes a very conscious effort to realistically portray a range of reactions, positive and negative and in between, to Jaret and Peggy being lesbians.
and, as other people have noted, it's not a punishment story. it does include (center on, even) a rape, and Scoppettone doesn't hold back either in writing that scene or in writing the aftermath — Jaret trying to deal with a traumatic experience, the legal system's prejudice against her both as a woman and as a lesbian, public reaction when she is outed by her rapist, etc.
but it doesn't give up, and it doesn't tell us Jaret deserved what she got. and it doesn't end with any of the classic tropes: there are no dead lesbians, and neither Jaret nor Peggy "goes back to being straight".
And so what if happy endings didn't exist? Happy moments did.
anachronistique's review against another edition
Definitely fascinating in its context as an early YA novel with a lesbian romance at the heart of it, but worth reading even beyond Historical Importance reasons. Jaret and Peggy are very believable teenagers, though the slang might have rung awkwardly even in 1978. What I didn't expect was the time the book spent with other characters - their parents, their siblings, their friends and community. And I feel like it's a good reminder that even in the ~dark ages~ of pre-21st-century America and social media there were gay people and they weren't all necessarily thrown out and shunned by their families. Horrible things happen, worse things happen, and just being a lesbian isn't the worst thing ever.
(If you're planning to pick it up, I will echo the other reviews that there is a graphically written rape and beating.)
(If you're planning to pick it up, I will echo the other reviews that there is a graphically written rape and beating.)
tangerineteeth's review
Read in October 2021: https://hollograms.blogspot.com/2021/11/books-read-in-october-2021.html
vanessakm's review against another edition
3.0
I learned of this book via [b:Shelf Discovery: The Teen Classics We Never Stopped Reading|5644891|Shelf Discovery The Teen Classics We Never Stopped Reading|Lizzie Skurnick|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348520903s/5644891.jpg|5816338], where the great YA whisperer Lizzie Skurnick raved about it. It's ground-breaking for its time in several ways: as the description says, it's a teen lesbian romance from a time when few existed, and it contains a significant rape subplot.
The story involves the romance between two girls in upstate New York in the summer before they go to college. One is sure she's a lesbian, one doesn't want to commit. It's the late 70's so it's fun and interesting to check in on where feminism and gay rights were at the time. Then one of the girls is beaten and raped by a male acquaintance and HOLY SHIT, it's incredibly graphic. I knew it was coming (both from the description and lead-up sequences from the attacker's POV), but I still was not prepared. I think only the scene from [b:The World According to Garp|7069|The World According to Garp|John Irving|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1447234581s/7069.jpg|1028204] was worse on the short list of rapey things I've read. To make matters worse, the victim gets the Boys Don't Cry treatment from the local police (luckly, her family is supportive.)
For me, this is more worthwhile as a snapshot of the time. I think it definitely would have been useful for both straight and gay kids at the time; there are enlightened characters to serve as role models, but even they struggle with their level of comfort with homosexuality. The one sympathetic (and straight) female friend won't undress in front of Peggy, Jaret's otherwise progressive mother thinks it is her fault that her daughter is gay while being simultaneously horrified that she feels that way, and so on. The rape scene--oof. I preferred how [b:Speak|439288|Speak|Laurie Halse Anderson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1310121762s/439288.jpg|118521] handled it-- thoughtfully but not overtly graphic. Authors have their reasons, of course. It was a book I enjoyed more when I reflected back on it than I enjoyed while reading it.
It's both frustrating and inspiring to see how far we've come as a society since this was written, and literature, movies and other art play a huge role in that.
The story involves the romance between two girls in upstate New York in the summer before they go to college. One is sure she's a lesbian, one doesn't want to commit. It's the late 70's so it's fun and interesting to check in on where feminism and gay rights were at the time. Then one of the girls is beaten and raped by a male acquaintance and HOLY SHIT, it's incredibly graphic. I knew it was coming (both from the description and lead-up sequences from the attacker's POV), but I still was not prepared. I think only the scene from [b:The World According to Garp|7069|The World According to Garp|John Irving|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1447234581s/7069.jpg|1028204] was worse on the short list of rapey things I've read. To make matters worse, the victim gets the Boys Don't Cry treatment from the local police (luckly, her family is supportive.)
For me, this is more worthwhile as a snapshot of the time. I think it definitely would have been useful for both straight and gay kids at the time; there are enlightened characters to serve as role models, but even they struggle with their level of comfort with homosexuality. The one sympathetic (and straight) female friend won't undress in front of Peggy, Jaret's otherwise progressive mother thinks it is her fault that her daughter is gay while being simultaneously horrified that she feels that way, and so on. The rape scene--oof. I preferred how [b:Speak|439288|Speak|Laurie Halse Anderson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1310121762s/439288.jpg|118521] handled it-- thoughtfully but not overtly graphic. Authors have their reasons, of course. It was a book I enjoyed more when I reflected back on it than I enjoyed while reading it.
It's both frustrating and inspiring to see how far we've come as a society since this was written, and literature, movies and other art play a huge role in that.