Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Alyson Books (2000), Edition: 1st, 232 pages
Description
Set towards the end of the 1960s, this enchanting first novel centres around the life of Paige Bergman, a cool, fierce and screwed up but brilliant 15-year-old hurtling toward adulthood, weathering an overbearing and jealous mother and a zombified father, a Buddhist motorcycle-riding lothario. Deftly exploring both the anxiety and excitement of teenage lesbian experience, it presents an original variation on the relentless theme of the seduction of the innocent old by the feral young and, in doing so, creates a mesmerising and unforgettable lesbian Lolita.
User reviews
LibraryThing member bluepigeon
Paige is a teenager. And she has a story to tell about her teenage years, growing up in Hell, NY.
Summer does too good a job with Paige, because she is exactly, I imagine, the perfectly-constructed American high school teenage girl. Not having been to high school in the USA, yet having had ample
Paige has an additional problem, though. The object of her obsession and stalking is a married woman 20 years older than Paige, who is emotionally bruised. But Paige perseveres, and life goes on. Perhaps that last bit, about life going on, is most essential in the book. High school happens, you fall in love, you stalk someone, you wonder if they like you, you lose your virginity, high school ends, and life goes on and on.
For me, it is impossible to like most American high school kids. Paige is not an exception. She's annoying, most of the time. Hence the 4 stars.
Summer does too good a job with Paige, because she is exactly, I imagine, the perfectly-constructed American high school teenage girl. Not having been to high school in the USA, yet having had ample
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opportunity to listen to many stories of miserable high school life as well as watching god-awful American films made about this era of the life of the American creature, I think Paige is perfect. She is intelligent, but not smart. She cares too much about what others think, and this leads her to either rebel or succumb to peer pressure. She is overly critical of everything and overconfident in her own invincibility, but the American insecurities show in matters of sexual expression. The need to always have an example, set rules somehow don't bother Paige in anything, except for her sexual feelings. Like all small towns in America, there is not a lot of religion, but still sex, sexual orientation, gender identity are difficult concepts.Paige has an additional problem, though. The object of her obsession and stalking is a married woman 20 years older than Paige, who is emotionally bruised. But Paige perseveres, and life goes on. Perhaps that last bit, about life going on, is most essential in the book. High school happens, you fall in love, you stalk someone, you wonder if they like you, you lose your virginity, high school ends, and life goes on and on.
For me, it is impossible to like most American high school kids. Paige is not an exception. She's annoying, most of the time. Hence the 4 stars.
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Subjects
Awards
Publishing Triangle Awards (Finalist — 2001)
Language
Original language
English
ISBN
155583549X / 9781555835491