Family Resemblances

By Lowry Pei

Book Overview

Fifteen-year-old Karen spends the summer with her unusual Aunt Augusta and learns many things about love, life, and the complexities of growing up. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0394755286
• ISBN13: 9780394755281
• Release Date: February 1988
• Publisher: Vintage
• Length: 264 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.

Customer Reviews

A Fifteen Year Old Learns About Herself and Life

This is a very good novel about a fifteen year old girl who spends a summer with her 'individualistic' aunt and learns about love, happiness, conflict and loss. She also learns how life involves sacrifice, striving and constantly coming to grips with what exists within and without oneself. Secrets are shared and norms changes. All of this is written from the perspective of the fifteen year old and makes for easy and insightful reading.

Deserves a wide audience

Difficult to see how this could rate lower than five stars, or to understand the one reviewer's remarks about George relative to the rest of the novel. Funny, too, that this is seen as a teen novel by some. Yes, it would be good for teens. But I have passed it around for years, particularly to women who grew up in the midwest during the period. All agree that it is right on the money with characterization, setting, etc. Bottom line: It's a wonderfully written and realized story, and one wonders why Pei has not published more. He is a sensitive, lucid, and evocative stylist with a wry, warm, expansive vision of humanity. Do what you can to get your hands on a copy--or copies--and pass them around.

a teen thing

This book will appeal to girls between the ages of around 12 and 15. It has the experiences of a girl who feels unwanted. For the younger readers, it will have a few squeamish bits for you. Overall this book is great. It has the teen girl, the love interest and the stories of her Aunt Augusta.