Henry Gregor Felsen (1916–1995)

I read about this in a recent YALSA article and uncovered an ancient copy at the university library. It's outdated and a tad overdramatic by contemporary standards (published 1952), but in general it's a genuine depiction of the conflicts faced by two thoughtful teens who had bright futures ahead but find themselves suddenly parents-to-be. Buff's (yes, his name is Buff!) evolution from BMOC to resentful young husband to wiser young man is predictable but feels authentic. And Elaine isn't the show more shrinking violet she appears to be at first. Once she realizes Buff isn't going to be there for her and Junior she squares her shoulders and moves on. It's up to Buff to prove he's found the maturity to be a working part of the family. show less

I can't believe no one has yet to review this wonderful teen-age book by Henry Gregor Felsen. I think it's a classic. I first read it about 12 or 13, and I still love it. Although it's obviously written more for boys, I think girls might enjoy it as well. Michael 'Mike' Revere is a senior in high school, in the innocent 1950s, when boys were concerned more with cars and sports, girls and fitting in, instead of being gang-bangers and huffing paint. Mike is the leader of his group, and he show more feels his spot challenged when rich boy David Galt comes to town. Mike feels he has to hold on to his top spot among his car-crazy friends, and trying to leads to tragedy. This isn't a deep book, like Catcher in the Rye (another favorite of mine), but it's still fun to read and I think anyone can remember what it was like wanting to be popular and fit in during your teenage years. The characters are all interesting and this is a well-written, interesting book about teenagers and their lives. I highly recommend it, and any other book my Mr. Felsen. He was a great writer in this genre. show less

This is more of a reminisce than a review. I wasn't much of a reader in my youth, but I picked up Street Rod at the library in my preteens and read this and it has haunted me since, which is about 40 years ago.

As I remember, it is a story of a troubled teen named Ricky who is struggling to make something of himself. At first, he is caught up in street racing, but a mentor comes along side to help him use his knowledge of cars for legitimate purposes. The teen responds positively, but Link, show more Ricky's nemesis on the streets, doesn't believe it.

The ending was so disturbing to me at the time that I can still see it play out in my mind having only read it once 40 years ago. show less

Loved this unforgettable, life shaping book, as a kid; plan to read it again as an adult.