Summer Blues

by Mary Jo Pollak

Set in the early 1970s, this novel tracks the life of Joan, a teenage girl in a small beach town in northern Ontario. Evocative of Alice Munro's work in terms of sexuality and place, Mary Jo Pollak's... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1895837499
• ISBN13: 9781895837490
• Release Date: April 2000
• Publisher: Insomniac Press
• Length: 157 Pages
• Weight: 0.46 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.0" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Realism

This book faced the angst of growing up in an era where female roles were changing - we were supposed to start stating our needs yet the male roles were still failing to deal with this new definition. The obsession of love - lost or not yet won - in the teenage years is strong in this story. So are obsessions with other things! A great read for the seventies child, an exploration for children of other decades. I, for one, loved reading about a resort setting that was not in a US coastal town. I hope Mary Jo Pollack's next book comes along soon.

If you've ever been a teenager

Then this book will hit home for you. Written in a clean stark style, Mary Jo really captures the angst and choices we all faced in high school. I hope to see more from this author soon!

This Book Will Stay With You

Seen through the eyes of a teenage girl, a summer resort town comes alive in this impressive first novel by Mary Jo Pollak. The main character, Joan, explores a confusing friendship and meets an array of characters, many of them men who attract, repel, protect, or threaten her. Through most of the book, she successfully avoids the pitfalls of a drug- and sex-soaked summer, negotiating the landscape of parties and casual encounters, making choices and handling conflicting emotions. Vignettes are presented in unblinking honesty, depicting scenarios ranging from mind-bending highs to a bizarre babysitting experience. Unfortunately, Joan's luck can't hold out forever, and Pollak crafts a gut-punch last page that will stay with the reader long after the book is finished.

It's About Time

Finally! A 70's coming-of-age book that accurately and movingly depicts a time period overshadowed by disco and tye-dye. The heroine of Pollak's book grapples with drugs, virginity, the ins and outs of teenage friendships and all of the other twists and turns of adolescence. It's not always a pretty picture but for those of us who knew the era it's definitely right on target.

The raw power of "Summer Burns"

"Summer Burns" is a raw, powerful book. It follows our heroine Joan and her friends through the drug tinged summer days of the 1970's in a small Canadian resort town. Joan and the other locals encounter itinerant bikers, musicians and even "yacht" people during their stoned summer odyssey while playing out their own story of coming of age. I found the story compelling and Mary Jo Pollack's style direct and edgy. Warning, this book is graphic and not for the faint of heart.