review: inzanesville by jo ann beard

The teen narrator of Inzanesville and her best friend Felicia (“Flea”) deal with typical teenage things throughout the book (well, most probably never had their terror baby-sitting charges nearly burn down the house), which means nothing special really happens, but there’s also a great story to Inzanesville. The girls fight, lose a little of themselves trying to fit in, and eventually make up. They deal with family issues like the narrator’s drunk father, attend school, and experience some of their first crushes. The narrator remains nameless making it easy for female readers to imagine themselves as her. The dialogue is perfectly captured for the time (1970s) and ages of the characters.
4/5
Review copy provided by the publisher, Little, Brown and Company.