Pennington's Seventeenth Summer

Patrick Pennington is not a conventional YA protagonist. He is angry and belligerent, engages in meaningless fights and wanton violence, and causes most of the trouble he experiences. Yet he is also an endearing character for whom I was rooting from the opening pages of the novel. Penn is complex, richly drawn, and unquestionably real.

This is an older YA novel, written before the genre had really firmed its conventions. It demonstrates quite a different sensibility than does much of today's writing for this audience. The author's stylistic restraint allows the reader to extend the situation in imagination, and the passages of musical description are thoughtful, beautiful, but never overwritten. The mixture of action — particularly show more sailing — and reflection provides a well-paced reading experience with strong interest. This is a deftly handled story.

Shockingly, the library copy I read had not circulated since 1979. That's a shame, because this book deserves a wider audience. Although Penn is definitely a teen of an earlier generation, his alienation, frustration, and social awkwardness transcend the decades admirably. I'd recommend this novel to older YA readers, particularly male readers, and anyone with a taste for British postwar writing. show less