Maureen Daly (1) (1921–2006)

Twelve-year-old Chico Filippo, whose own donkeys were confiscated years before by the German army, can't stay away from the newly set up American Remount Depot. Here, in the last months of World War II in Italy, thousands of supply mules and donkeys are processed and sent onto the fierce mountain fighting in the Apennines. One of the handlers introduces Chico to a small courageous animal the boy names Sergeant Donkey. Drawn into friendship and then into unexpected danger, Chico must show more demonstrate his own simple courage. More than an animal or war story, this short book has a depth of truth about people of different ages and nationalities who still share a common love of the land and of human dignity. show less

The cover design is misleading; this is a reprint of a book that was originally published in 1942, more than a quarter century before the publication of Forever by Judy Blume. The themes are similar, but there is a monumental difference in the style and quality of writing as well as the characters' attitudes about sexuality. To be fair, Daly wrote Seventeenth Summer in college, and Blume was considerably older and had more writing experience when she wrote Forever; still, Seventeenth Summer show more would be a much shorter book without quite so much description (many things are described as "oddly sensuous," and there is much about the garden and the moon, etc.).

These books reflect the time periods in which they were written. Blume writes straightforwardly about teenage relationships and sex, and her character Katherine seems to know her own mind and be in touch with her own feelings; she has real discussions with friends, parents, and her boyfriend Michael. Her parents' attitudes are much more progressive than those of the parents of Angie, Daly's protagonist. Blume's honest handling of teenage sexuality, in fact, caused (and still causes, to some extent) much controversy.

Angie Morrow, however, hardly resembles Katherine. She and her family - mother, often-absent father (he is a traveling salesman of sorts, often gone during the week and home at weekends), two older sisters and one younger - are much more conservative, and this is reflected in their speech, activity, and thoughts. They seem to do little other than clean house, prepare for and eat dinner (lunch) and supper, drink tea, and garden. Everyone is reticent about their thoughts and feelings. Angie feels older away from her family, with friends: "At home they cared about what I thought, of course, but in a different way. They cared whether I would rather have pork chops or steak for dinner or whether I would rather have a white collar on my dress or no collar at all, but they didn't seem to think much or care what was actually in my head" (119). Frankly, however, what is in Angie's head isn't that interesting, and doesn't seem clear even to her. We know she is experiencing feelings that are new to her, but she can't articulate them even to herself, let alone anyone else. "After all, what would my mother say if she knew that I, who had just been out of high school six weeks, was feeling the way I was? Families just don't understand about such things."

Perhaps this is partially explained by her thought that "it was something like voting, that you weren't really supposed to start feeling with your heart until you were at least twenty-one" (152). This struck me as odd, especially at a time when people tended to get married younger. Angie, however, is wary of her mother even mentioning Jack, fearing the questions she might ask (e.g., "Wasn't I a little young to be liking a boy?")(203). Angie's parents seem to prefer that she date different boys rather than "go steady" with Jack - they think it is too early to be serious about any one boy, and Angie has internalized this opinion to some extent.

There is a significant difference between daytime and nighttime in the book. Angie's friend Margie says to her, "You know, Angie, that shows when a boy really likes a girl - when he wants to kiss her in the daytime!" (186). (Again, we are 30 years before Forever - kissing is as scandalous as it gets.) Yet even under the cover of the darkness of night, Angie is too shy (repressed?) to tell Jack how she feels about him; it really seems like she doesn't know, though twice he confesses his own feelings first, giving her an opportunity to reply (she doesn't. And he, bizarrely, doesn't press for a response). In the car with him one night, Angie reflects, "As often as I had seen Jack and as much as I liked him I still felt almost afraid to be alone with him." There is such a lack of honest, clear communication between the two that it is no wonder she still feels uncomfortable and shy. Later, after he gives her the news that he is moving to Oklahoma with his family, she thinks, "I knew he expected me to say something...But I couldn't. I couldn't break down the shyness that always kept me from saying what I really thought and felt. It was, somehow, too embarrassing to be affectionate in the daytime and I couldn't even make myself touch his hand" (259-260).

Overall, I found this book to be overlong and a bit frustrating. Angie says goodbye to Jack and goes off to college without ever replying to his "I love you"; she never once truly confides in any of her sisters, her friends, or her mother, and even though the narration is first person, the reader isn't entirely clear on Angie's thoughts and feelings. Her feelings resemble a crush or the very beginning of a relationship more than they do love as it is thought of today - so perhaps she was right not to reply to Jack after all. show less

"…It wasn’t puppy love, or infatuation, or love at first sight, or anything that people always talk about and laugh… People can’t tell you about things like that, you have to find them out for yourself."

I happened upon Seventeenth Summer while perusing the bookshelf in my seventh grade English class, back in middle school. Read and loved the book but, naturally, had to return it to the classroom shelf when I was through, so I procured a used copy for myself in my twenties and reread show more it. Still loved it.

Angie doesn’t relate a loud, racy, speedy, or sappy account about herself and Jack. The story’s (to steal a word from a quote I’m about to use because it’s in my head now and it fits) mellow essence and beautiful descriptions take you right into the warmth and leisure of a summer that is soon saturated with emotion, experience, and reflection without disturbing the ease of it all. Angie’s particular reflection about a wonderful oddity at the end of June is what most made me remember the book from my adolescence to my adulthood.

"And the thought in my mind was as warm and mellow as the sunlight. How odd, I thought. How wonderfully, wonderfully odd to be kissed in the middle of the afternoon."

It’s not a late 20th or early 21st Century romance and isn’t meant to be read like one. Even as a preteen, I relished the idea of a time and place where an afternoon kiss, even in the midst of a summer romance, would have been odd. Of course, being an 80s baby, I wouldn’t be able to testify about what young love was really like back in 1942, when the book was first published, and as another of course, this is only one story. One lone, fictional story. But the imagery is pleasing and unforgettable, the kind that makes a girl hope and dream—occupations in harmony with a summer of any number, one’s seventeenth or otherwise.

A lovely book, easily added to my all-time favorites. show less

Seventeenth Summer was better than I thought it would be. It was a little hard to get into, although that didn't surprise me since it's from the 40's and writing styles have changed so much.

I wasn't thrilled with the ending...it seemed rather unfinished to me. I almost want to look and see if there is a sequel, because I want to know why Lorraine's life was so bad after the book (as Angie explains on page 115) and, naturally, I'd like to know if Jack and Angie really do keep in touch after show more they both leave town.

What I did like, however, was the obvious glimpse the book gives you at the time period. The rules and etiquette, etc., that you can see in movies but it's hard to explain in a book. Daly did such a good job of incorporating these nuances into the book that only a few times did I realize how absurd most of the rules would be in present day - not to mention how shocked the characters would be.

I liked Daly's style of writing - very informal and open. She also made the book entirely from Angie's point of view and did it so well that sometimes the reader was just as naive as Angie.

Overall, I liked it. I"m not sure I'll be revisiting it that often, not how often I'd be able to recommend it - but if you're looking for a semi-historical read about first love, this is a good place to start. show less