Marilyn Sachs (1927–2016)

Jeff Lyons can't stand Ellen de Luca, the fat girl in his ceramics class. She's huge, clumsy, can't throw a pot to save her life, and stares at Jeff all the time. But he's a "nice guy" and feels terrible when Ellen overhears his hurtful remarks about her. The "crumbs of kindness" he tosses her way soon turn into advice on weight loss, college, clothes, hair . . . and, to everyone's surprise, good-looking Jeff actually dumps his pretty girlfriend to be with the fat girl! Re-creating Ellen is show more a labor of love, Jeff thinks. But as her pounds melt away, Jeff resents the happy, independent young woman he has unleashed. Where is the gratitude for all he's done for her? With this darkly ironic take on the classic Pygmalion tale, Marilyn Sachs offers young readers a candid portrayal of what happens when the intoxicating thrill of control is confused with love. show less

Classic '80s middle grade novel. It had all the things I liked about these books: light, character-driven, doesn't move too quickly, quirky. The main character is allowed to be "young" for her age (she's unsophisticated, she sits on her dad's lap when she's upset.) In a complete throwaway moment, she bravely catches a thief! The coolest thing she can wear is a sweater with a boat collar. Aaaaand the man who lives upstairs whom the MC has a crush on is a total perv who's grooming her. The show more writer knows it, the reader knows it, and luckily the MC figures it out. But it's presented as no big deal, of course she can keep on babysitting for his child. And that's what it was like in the '80s; you kids today don't know how good you have it. show less

Full disclosure: I bought this book simply because it had one of Maurice Sendak's Wild Things on the cover, and completely unaware of the contents, so this review may be a little scattered. Obviously Sendak was involved in the production of this book, contributing a lovely illustration of a simpler world full of fun and adventure, but most of the authors and illustrators were unfamiliar to me. Published in 1990, as the world was coming down from the highs of the Cold War, but still seeing an show more increase in violence and strige worldwide, the collection is a manifesto promoting cooperation, understanding, and of course peace among humankind. We see examples of cultures coming together ("There is an Island"), people peaefully protesting for their rights ("The Bus for Deadhorse"), and an example of peaceful coexistence from the animal world ("The Birds' Peace") to name a few of my favourite examples. For what is on the surface a simple children's book of tales, I was surprised at how deeply many of the stories tackle a historical narrative. Engaging with themes of American nationalism, racism, and isolationis a tricky thing to do for publishers, but this risk has paid off to make the book highly engaging. Since its publication it doesn't seem like humanity has come very far in becoming more peaceful, so may it is time to revisit this publishing concept and do another BIGGER book for peace! show less

I'm so amazed and overjoyed whenever this happens!

That is, sometimes I want to find a book that I read back in my childhood or adolescence, but I can't remember the title or author. And the book isn't iconic or well-known enough to appear on all the vintage children's or YA fiction lists on the internet.

But I remembered a tidbit or two from this quick read I first sailed through in my preteens. I remembered part of one of the black and white illustrations inside. And I remembered the full show more color book cover art rather distinctly.

Lo and behold, even after my unfruitful searches for this book in the past, I finally came across the cover art I remembered so well. Came across it to my utter surprise and delight while I was actually busy searching for a different long-lost book.

"Beach Towels!" I squealed the long-forgotten title aloud, as soon as I saw it for the first time in decades. (We won't say how many.)

One thing this book showed me all those years ago? How much a story can say, how complete it can be, even with minimal words/pages. This "Skinny Book," as the publisher calls it, says just enough for the story it means to tell. And it says it well.

Also, admittedly, although I remembered really enjoying my first go-round with it, I'd forgotten how serious of a story it is. Not a dark or heavy one, but quite a serious, meaningful one.

Granted, some aspects of it rubbed me in a somewhat different way than they did all those years ago. Still, it's always interesting when rediscovering books gives me some added insight concerning the ways I've changed—and the ways I'm the same.

It was definitely worth coming back for another go-round with this vintage, skinny book.

Note:
• a couple of uses of "damn" in a nonliteral sense
• a few practical, inexplicit comments about sex
• no violence show less