A very good teen book about small town life and how parents, siblings, friends, and townspeople react to a queer teen in their midst. 25 years after being written, this book still feels relative today. Evie is the girl who likes sports, wearing "boys' clothes," and driving fast cars. She isn't "ladylike" and she doesn't care what people think about her. She just is who she is. A story that teaches how to love people for who they are and who they want to be. ( )

Dated and didactic, but unfortunately probably still necessary in hick towns like the one that owns it in my library system: Jackpot, Nevada. ( )

Told from the POV of a younger brother, it's the story of Evie, a small-town farmboy butch who falls in love with the femme daughter of the richest man in town. A butch-femme love story for young adults, with a discussion of class? Why is this book out of print? ( )

Parr's sister Evie dresses in masculine clothes, likes to fix machines and finds herself crushing on Patsy, the banker's daughter. Despite the stigma of being labeled as a lesbian, Evie find strength in herself and moves away to live with Patsy. Overall, I thought the characters and storyline was overly stereotypical. I'm not sure if a teenager would respond better to the book, but I found it to be a bit slow and static. ( )

Parr Burrman's got a problem: his big sister Evie. She's the nicest person anybody's ever met, the hardest worker on their family's farm, and the best mechanic in town. But now she and Patsy Duff--daughter of the man who owns half the town-- are spending an awful lot of time together. It's only a matter of time before the clock ticks down and Evie's bombshell explodes all over Parr's life. Written from Parr's perspective, this is a fantastic book for teens -- queer and not-- from small towns. M.E. Kerr breathes vivid life into the setting, and brings in a cast of round characters who are sure to remind you of folks you know. The narrative is sharply witted, and the pacing of the book speeds up and slows down, along with the work on the Burrman family farm. Highly recommended for high school and public libraries, also a possibility for middle school libraries. ( )