Seventeen And-In-Between

Seventeen-year-old Elsie Edwards - first introduced as an overweight, unpopular 10-year-old in "Nothing's Fair in Fifth Grade" - appears as the protagonist of this funny and smart YA novel. Although Elsie's come a long way in the past seven years, having lost weight, made some close friends and snagged a hunky older football player for a boyfriend, she still feels like a lost little girl on the inside. She realizes, though, that she needs to stay strong to help her loved ones through their own current crises: best friend Jenny's parents are separating; little sister Robyn is experiencing her first heartbreak; her emotionally distant mother may have health complications; and Elsie herself is afraid to admit she may have "outgrown" her football hero, in favor of her longtime pal Jack. No matter what Elsie chooses - or how difficult it is for her to arrive at that conclusion - you can be sure her decision will be the right thing to do. This is one of my all-time favorite YA books, one that's in a box just waiting to be passed on to my own children. If you enjoy it, you may be interested in "Nothing's Fair in Fifth Grade" and "How Do You Lose Those Ninth Grade Blues?," which detail Elsie's earlier years.

As I said in the title, I'm nineteen, but I got a late start with boys and things, so the Seventeen part seems to fit the bill with me. Even though this book is considered YA it's a great book and I will continue to read it and other YA novels. This book examines Elsie and her struggle with the things that all girls struggle with at this time: friends, boys, school, and family. She comes from a broken home with parents that don't care, her friends' lives are "falling apart" like many teenage lives seem to do, and her first love just isn't the right guy and she's finally starting to notice it. This book is well written and it right on with the way a girl at this age thinks and feels. It's very easy to relate to, and any girl that has family or boy problems should definitely read this.

This book was great . I meen Elsie she had two gues who loved here but she didnt know who to love back. This book is a saspence. I couldent put it down . I mean when Elsie Kissed Jack I couldnt belive my eyes . I would recamend this book for any one who can read and as for me I have a story to get back to so long.

I love Elsie - her intelligence, her decency, her pain & anger. The characters in this book jump off the page & seem like people I've either known & felt strongly about or WISH I knew. Elsie's mom is one of the more fascinating moms I've read about - not sympathetic, not likable, but REAL. Her 2 "love interests" are both good solid guys, but you find yourself strongly rooting for...well, read it and see. This book is special - quite a few notches above the usual Young Adult fare, with memorable characters and a deep understanding of adolescence & how one never REALLY gets over one's childhood...you carry it with you wherever you go.

I first read this book in jr. high school, and have read it over and over ever since. I'm several years older than Elsie Edwards now, but I still find Elsie and her friends and family to be some of the most realistic characters ever portrayed in a teen novel. For some reason I associate this book, and it's companion novel "How Do You Lose Those Ninth Grade Blues", with Christmastime (I think it's the Christmas concert scene), and so I always take both well worn paperbacks from my box of favorite childhood books in December. I usually read them both in one weekend, and with every reading I am just as absorbed in Elsie's world. I'm sorry to see that these wonderful books are now out of print. I hope they are reissued, and I'm even holding out hope for a sequel about Elsie and Jack!