“And so what if happy endings didn't exist? Happy moments did.”

Sandra Scoppettone-Happy Endings Are All Alike

Does contain possible trigger regarding a very graphic rape scene.

This book has stayed with me since childhood and I recently had the chance to do a reread and found it every bit as compelling as I did back then..

reading this, one has to remember the book was way ahead of its time. Its about the love affair of two high school girls, Jaret and Peggy. They are close friends who fall in love.

It is, to the best of my recollection, one of the first books ever published in this genre. I loved it then and I love it now. But for new readers, you have to know that going in because attitudes back then were quite a bit different to say the least.

SPOILERS:

This book maybe triggering as it contains a vile nasty rape depiction. These girls keep their affair secret but are "outed" when a psychopathic boy who has been obsessed with Jaret, discovers her secret, rapes her and when charged, his defense is that the love affair between Jaret and Peggy "drove him" to it.

That would not fly today. It is rather surreal sometimes realizing how different the world is today and what it maybe like in say another few decades..or even over a hundred years from now when most of us wont even be here. In any event this is realistic young adult fiction at its best but should be read with caution. I give it 5 stars. ( )

I first heard about this book in a summary of lesbian young adult fiction: its origins and how far it's come today. This book was mentioned as one of the books back from the days when characters were punished for being gay. And in this novel, particularly horrifically. So I thought maybe I should stay away from this book for a while. And I did.

Now, having read it, I can say the image I had of the book was completely false. It's not a punishment story; it's an exploration of the extreme homophobia and misogyny in society, especially in the 1970s when it was written, and it's also a refreshingly feminist and powerful critique. I was happily surprised to find such a strong message — which is hard to find in any book, but in a book written 35 years ago it was especially powerful.

This is one of those books that I read more for the history than the story itself. I can only imagine how groundbreaking this novel was when it was first published in 1979; not only does it focus on the lesbian relationship between two teen girls (and, altogether, it's painted in a good light), but it also mentions the Women's Liberation movement, too. So, yeah, definitely a book that was probably given the stink eye quite frequently.

The book does have a tendency to come off as dated. The characters "rap" quite a bit, and it took me a second to figure out that they meant having a conversation instead of, well, trying to be the next Eminem. And "does a chicken have lips" - haha, I can remember my mom saying that ALL of the time when I was little.

The writing style is rather sparse, and the author has difficulty picking one narrator per chapter, which leads to a lot of switching between narrators at a dizzying pace. That is quickly becoming one of my pet peeves in fiction.

Shout out to the character who doesn't shave her legs; for some reason, that's still controversial to this day! ( )