Book Review: Almost April

I discovered this book by Zoa Sherburne while cleaning. I hate getting rid of books when I'm unsure of whether or not I've read them. I'm glad I read this one.

This book was released sometime in the late 1950s or very early 60s, but oddly enough it really stands the test of time.

Karen is a 17 year old girl who is moving across the country to be with her father and his wife. Her mother died a few years previously (of cancer, we presume) and she's been living with her grandmother, who is very crotchety.

When she arrives in Oregen, Karen isn't sure how to behave. Its part of what makes the story relevant now. Karen is out of her element in her new surroundings. She's not sure how to act, or how she wants to act. She's a little resentful of Jan, her father's new wife, who is having the baby that her own mother longed for.

I love Karen's determination when she meets the town bad boy, Nels and later his mother. This young woman has strength and she shows her love for the people in her life so well, even when she is being stubborn.

I only wish Zoa would have spent some time telling us a bit more about Karen's mother and her illness and the reason for her mom's divorce from Thad Hale. It might have made it easier to understand the characters more.

All in all, this was a great book. It was written very well and was better than a lot of the young adult fiction that I read when I was growing up. I was going to pass this book on to Goodwill but now I'm not sure if I will. I may keep it, to revisit later.