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Babyface
At fifteen, Toni Chessmore was happy with her life. She had parents who adored her and each other. Her best friend lived next door and was everything a best friend should be. Toni’s life was just about perfect…or so she thought.
But that was before her best friend left for California, before they almost ended their perfect friendship over a boy, and before Toni heard a long-buried secret about her family that made her world come crashing down around her. Yet it was those bitter truths that let her see that nothing in life was perfect…including the people she loved the most.
But that was before her best friend left for California, before they almost ended their perfect friendship over a boy, and before Toni heard a long-buried secret about her family that made her world come crashing down around her. Yet it was those bitter truths that let her see that nothing in life was perfect…including the people she loved the most.
165 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1990
7 people are currently reading
121 people want to read
About the author
Norma Fox Mazer
58 books104 followersNorma Fox Mazer was an American author and teacher, best known for her books for children and young adults.
She was born in New York City but grew up in Glens Falls, New York, with parents Michael and Jean Garlan Fox. Mazer graduated from Glens Falls High School, then went to Antioch College, where she met Harry Mazer, whom she married in 1950; they have four children, one of whom, Anne Mazer, is also a writer. She also studied at Syracuse University.
New York Times Book Review contributor Ruth I. Gordon wrote that Mazer "has the skill to reveal the human qualities in both ordinary and extraordinary situations as young people mature....it would be a shame to limit their reading to young people, since they can show an adult reader much about the sometimes painful rite of adolescent passage into adulthood."
Among the honors Mazer earned for her writing were a National Book Award nomination in 1973, an American Library Association Notable Book citation in 1976, inclusion on the New York Times Outstanding Books of the Year list in 1976, the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award in 1978, an Edgar Award in 1982, German Children's Literature prizes in 1982 and 1989, and a Newbery Medal in 1988.
Mazer taught in the Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Children & Young Adults Program at Vermont College.
For more information, please see http://www.answers.com/topic/norma-fo...
She was born in New York City but grew up in Glens Falls, New York, with parents Michael and Jean Garlan Fox. Mazer graduated from Glens Falls High School, then went to Antioch College, where she met Harry Mazer, whom she married in 1950; they have four children, one of whom, Anne Mazer, is also a writer. She also studied at Syracuse University.
New York Times Book Review contributor Ruth I. Gordon wrote that Mazer "has the skill to reveal the human qualities in both ordinary and extraordinary situations as young people mature....it would be a shame to limit their reading to young people, since they can show an adult reader much about the sometimes painful rite of adolescent passage into adulthood."
Among the honors Mazer earned for her writing were a National Book Award nomination in 1973, an American Library Association Notable Book citation in 1976, inclusion on the New York Times Outstanding Books of the Year list in 1976, the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award in 1978, an Edgar Award in 1982, German Children's Literature prizes in 1982 and 1989, and a Newbery Medal in 1988.
Mazer taught in the Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Children & Young Adults Program at Vermont College.
For more information, please see http://www.answers.com/topic/norma-fo...
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
April 9, 2008
I loved Norma Fox Mazer when I was younger. The other day I was in the mood for a young adult book, so I bought this one, a book I had never read before. (I was looking for Silver though, my favorite Norma Fox Mazer book that I read probably 30 times when I was a kid, but now I can't find it! Where is it???) It was good. I love how the focus isn't on events happening bam, bam, bam all in a neat row and you know, Hey, it's Saturday and Toni's going bowling, then hey, the very next day, this and this happens as a result, blahblah, then the next day this happens. The focus is on Toni growing up, her interactions one moment with her sister, then she'll write a letter to her best friend, then maybe she goes bowling, then ah ha!, she has to deal with her parents b/c her conversation with her sister revealed something shocking about her parents last week. The main character was dealing with a lot but the author balanced it all well, is what I guess I'm trying to say.
Norma Fox Mazer. Timeless.
Norma Fox Mazer. Timeless.
February 4, 2022
This book was so cute! I loved the ending, especially. As always, I picked this up because it looked like a teen book from the 90s, and it is! It was published in 1990. But it's not heavy on the time period details, which I don't mind because the story was just so good.
Toni is a fourteen-year-old girl whose life is perfect--her parents love each other and her, she has a great best friend named Julie, what else can she ask for? But Julie's life is very different--her parents are always fighting, Julie smokes, she always seems dissatisfied with life. The summer before their sophomore year of high school, Julie tells Toni that she's spending the next couple of months in California with her mother and younger sister because their father has decided to go off to Alaska, and Julie's mother refuses to stay in New York if her husband is going off on his own. So, for the first time ever, Toni and Julie are separated over the summer, and this separation is one of the catalysts for the subtle but important changes that come over Toni as she matures.
Then, something serious happens to Toni's father, and Toni has to stay in Manhattan with her older sister Martine. Martine is almost thirty, and she and Toni don't have a relationship. Her stay with her sister changes her even more and changes her life forever when she finds something out about their parents that she never knew before.
I love Toni as a main character. She is a very sweet and mild girl but has a good personality. I like the way Toni and Julie's friendship progresses from dependance to independence, and I really appreciate that the central conflict in the novel isn't about romance. There is a romance in the story, and it's important, but it's not even close to the main storyline. The major conflicts are between Toni and herself, Toni and her parents, and Toni and Martine. The plot is not very complicated and moves forward simply and slowly, but the conflicts make the story more impactful because they're so realistic and so moving. As the story moved towards an ending, I wondered where it was going, and everything comes together so nicely, not obviously or too quickly, just naturally like things happen in real life. I really appreciated Mazer's artistry.
Overall, the book is very simple, but it's heartwarming and interesting to read. The scenes of strongest conflict between Toni and Martine and between Toni and her father are gripping in an emotional way, and as I said, everything comes together nicely without being pat or unrealistic. When I grabbed this book from the used bookstore, I also picked up another Mazer novel, and I'm glad I did. I'm looking forward to reading another one of her books! Highly recommended.
Toni is a fourteen-year-old girl whose life is perfect--her parents love each other and her, she has a great best friend named Julie, what else can she ask for? But Julie's life is very different--her parents are always fighting, Julie smokes, she always seems dissatisfied with life. The summer before their sophomore year of high school, Julie tells Toni that she's spending the next couple of months in California with her mother and younger sister because their father has decided to go off to Alaska, and Julie's mother refuses to stay in New York if her husband is going off on his own. So, for the first time ever, Toni and Julie are separated over the summer, and this separation is one of the catalysts for the subtle but important changes that come over Toni as she matures.
Then, something serious happens to Toni's father, and Toni has to stay in Manhattan with her older sister Martine. Martine is almost thirty, and she and Toni don't have a relationship. Her stay with her sister changes her even more and changes her life forever when she finds something out about their parents that she never knew before.
I love Toni as a main character. She is a very sweet and mild girl but has a good personality. I like the way Toni and Julie's friendship progresses from dependance to independence, and I really appreciate that the central conflict in the novel isn't about romance. There is a romance in the story, and it's important, but it's not even close to the main storyline. The major conflicts are between Toni and herself, Toni and her parents, and Toni and Martine. The plot is not very complicated and moves forward simply and slowly, but the conflicts make the story more impactful because they're so realistic and so moving. As the story moved towards an ending, I wondered where it was going, and everything comes together so nicely, not obviously or too quickly, just naturally like things happen in real life. I really appreciated Mazer's artistry.
Overall, the book is very simple, but it's heartwarming and interesting to read. The scenes of strongest conflict between Toni and Martine and between Toni and her father are gripping in an emotional way, and as I said, everything comes together nicely without being pat or unrealistic. When I grabbed this book from the used bookstore, I also picked up another Mazer novel, and I'm glad I did. I'm looking forward to reading another one of her books! Highly recommended.
July 21, 2011
Fifteen year old Toni Chessmore has it all, a family that loves her, a best friend who lives right next door, but nothing in life is perfect right? Her best friend has to go to California for summer due to some sad circumstances, Toni falls for the boy that her best friend was crushing on, and finds out a family secret that has been buried for years.
This book was very short, in fact it's under 200 pages. I feel like maybe if I read this book when I was younger like 12-13 I probably would have enjoyed it more, but because of the fact that i've read so many more complex novels before this one, it feel short for me. Norma Fox Mazer was a favorite author of mine growing up and After The Rain, is one of those books that stick out in my mind that made me fall in love with reading from the beginning, and It won a number of awards to boot.
I think the younger audience would really enjoy this book, it's a light-hearted, summer read, that deals with issues that probably anyone could be able to relate too or have been through similar situations when they were younger. Norma Fox Mazer will continue to be an author I check out but this book was a little too basic and lacked complexity that i'm used too.
This book was very short, in fact it's under 200 pages. I feel like maybe if I read this book when I was younger like 12-13 I probably would have enjoyed it more, but because of the fact that i've read so many more complex novels before this one, it feel short for me. Norma Fox Mazer was a favorite author of mine growing up and After The Rain, is one of those books that stick out in my mind that made me fall in love with reading from the beginning, and It won a number of awards to boot.
I think the younger audience would really enjoy this book, it's a light-hearted, summer read, that deals with issues that probably anyone could be able to relate too or have been through similar situations when they were younger. Norma Fox Mazer will continue to be an author I check out but this book was a little too basic and lacked complexity that i'm used too.
July 27, 2025
Revisiting old writers from childhood makes me feel old. This is such a dates book.
May 8, 2021
The family secret was definitely not what I expected. As I read, I really thought the older sister would turn out to be the girl's mother.
I know the past two Mazer books I read were written 30+ years ago, but I still found the teenage characters to be very juvenile. It was hard to believe they were the ages given in the books; more like 12 or 13 years old, instead of 15+.
I know the past two Mazer books I read were written 30+ years ago, but I still found the teenage characters to be very juvenile. It was hard to believe they were the ages given in the books; more like 12 or 13 years old, instead of 15+.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 2, 2022
i love it but why do i have to write this😍
March 31, 2015
Fourteen-year-old Toni Chessmore lives in the small town of Ridgewood with her parents, Harold and Violet, and cat Paws, next door to her best friend Julie Jenson whose parents are Steve and Jerrine and whose younger sister is Heather. Toni has always felt that her life has been lucky with perfect parents and the best friend possible. However, her luck begins to change the summer following her fifteenth birthday. Julie’s parents, who have always fought, talk about separating. Steve goes off on a motorcycle trip to Alaska, and Jerrine takes Julie and Heather to spend the whole summer with Julie’s Aunt Wendy in California. Then Toni’s father suffers a near-fatal heart attack and must go away for rehab, so Toni is sent to New York City to stay with her older sister by fifteen years, Martine, who has always seemed so cold and indifferent.
While Toni is there, Martine reveals a devastating secret about her parents’ past, and Toni, disillusioned, decides that the whole family has been living a lie that began before she was born. What is this shocking secret? How will it affect Toni and her relationship to her parents? And what will she do about it? Several references to smoking occur. Of course, smoking is an important factor in Harold’s heart attack, but Julie also takes it up supposedly in preparation for becoming an actress. Some typical public school boy-girl activities are mentioned, such as being in love and kissing, as Toni and Julie seem to vie for affection from the same boy, L. R. Faberman. There is actually a good story here that illustrates how to deal, or not deal as the case may be, with family skeletons in the closet, and with changes in friendships.
However, some parents may want to know that the “h” and “d” words are used somewhat liberally, along with some common childish slang terms for certain bodily functions and other near-vulgarisms. At the same time, when Toni writes Julie about her father’s heart attack, she asks Julie to pray for him. Some might wonder why the secret Toni learned was such a big deal, and readers may tend to be a bit hard on her attitude at first, but anyone can still relate to the resentment which it causes when she realizes that some aspects of her “perfect” life are not what she thought they were. The ending is hopeful, and everything finally works out as Toni deals openly and honestly with her issues so that she can start to accept and forgive. Author Norma Fox Mazer won a Newbery Honor Book award for her After the Rain.
While Toni is there, Martine reveals a devastating secret about her parents’ past, and Toni, disillusioned, decides that the whole family has been living a lie that began before she was born. What is this shocking secret? How will it affect Toni and her relationship to her parents? And what will she do about it? Several references to smoking occur. Of course, smoking is an important factor in Harold’s heart attack, but Julie also takes it up supposedly in preparation for becoming an actress. Some typical public school boy-girl activities are mentioned, such as being in love and kissing, as Toni and Julie seem to vie for affection from the same boy, L. R. Faberman. There is actually a good story here that illustrates how to deal, or not deal as the case may be, with family skeletons in the closet, and with changes in friendships.
However, some parents may want to know that the “h” and “d” words are used somewhat liberally, along with some common childish slang terms for certain bodily functions and other near-vulgarisms. At the same time, when Toni writes Julie about her father’s heart attack, she asks Julie to pray for him. Some might wonder why the secret Toni learned was such a big deal, and readers may tend to be a bit hard on her attitude at first, but anyone can still relate to the resentment which it causes when she realizes that some aspects of her “perfect” life are not what she thought they were. The ending is hopeful, and everything finally works out as Toni deals openly and honestly with her issues so that she can start to accept and forgive. Author Norma Fox Mazer won a Newbery Honor Book award for her After the Rain.
September 6, 2012
I wanted to like this book. I wanted to like these characters. I gave them 100 pages to convince me that I liked them. I didn't DISLIKE them. I just found that I didn't care about them. They lacked dimension and felt dated.
Seriously, how long has it been since kids were allowed to smoke in school? I wanted to tell the main character, "Your parents were different than how they are now. They messed up and have made their lives better since your birth. You're having difficulty dealing with it. Um, okay. You're fourteen. Your circumstances pale in comparison to what others cope with every day. Sure, it is important to you, but I just don't consider this to be a conflict worth my time." Also, how does one person having a crush on a guy that she doesn't know and has never talked to give her any sort of ownership over his affections? I may have connected better to these issues in my youth, but now they just seem to simple to captivate a more saavy and contemporary audience.
Seriously, how long has it been since kids were allowed to smoke in school? I wanted to tell the main character, "Your parents were different than how they are now. They messed up and have made their lives better since your birth. You're having difficulty dealing with it. Um, okay. You're fourteen. Your circumstances pale in comparison to what others cope with every day. Sure, it is important to you, but I just don't consider this to be a conflict worth my time." Also, how does one person having a crush on a guy that she doesn't know and has never talked to give her any sort of ownership over his affections? I may have connected better to these issues in my youth, but now they just seem to simple to captivate a more saavy and contemporary audience.
December 24, 2013
This book was ok. I can appreciate the fact that everyone has eye-openers in life and that those instances can be very hard to deal with at this age, but I see enough of this every single day. I thought this would be a good book, but it's just one about teenagers having little problems combined with significant problems, and not knowing how to deal with them; when they do deal with them, they go the completely wrong way about it. If I wanted to see more high school aged drama, I'd just pay more attention to people's problems at school. I like that the author had a good view on how kids act, but this book just wasn't something I, personally, could enjoy. If I could have gotten past some of these things, I might have been able to enjoy the ending a bit more.
May 23, 2013
BABYFACE;
The main character Toni,also called "baby face" by her parents learns of the truth in her family which was once perfect to her.All that changes,pushes her outside of the box to realize that not much of anything can last forever.This is another story of an early teen's life,with a lesson to be learnt that changing is a part of growing up.
In my opinion,I'd give this 2.5stars;One of those nice books but not perfect.
I particularly like the relation of the story to real life where each and every one of us reaches the stage where we realize the world is bigger than we though;,the little things we start realizing and firguring out that they the make big things.
The main character Toni,also called "baby face" by her parents learns of the truth in her family which was once perfect to her.All that changes,pushes her outside of the box to realize that not much of anything can last forever.This is another story of an early teen's life,with a lesson to be learnt that changing is a part of growing up.
In my opinion,I'd give this 2.5stars;One of those nice books but not perfect.
I particularly like the relation of the story to real life where each and every one of us reaches the stage where we realize the world is bigger than we though;,the little things we start realizing and firguring out that they the make big things.
September 26, 2008
I think this book was okay. I don't like how much Toni freaked out about her dad hitting her mom, because it was forever ago. And they are still together. I know it isn't the best news to hear, but it happened way before she was born. I don't like Toni's sister though, she is really mean to Toni. And i think she is jealouse of her. I also don't like how she never talks to Toni I think thats wrong.
January 15, 2014
a re-read from my youth. i loved me some norma fox mazer. sadly, "babyface" is not quite as awesome as i remembered, but i do like the new cover featuring toni drooping in martine's apartment. this also makes me want to dig out my old copies of "a my name is ami" and "b my name is bunny" to see how those held up.
May 25, 2008
I don't know why I like this book, but I do. As a teenager I think I enjoyed it because it is a good examination of different types of relationships. I read it now because there is such a feeling of nostalgia attached to the book.
January 22, 2009
You can tell an author is on the same wave length as her main character when she spells her name wrong in the third-last page. I can't believe that slipped passed the editors.
This book was beyond boring. I wouldn't read it again if all my other books went up in flames.
This book was beyond boring. I wouldn't read it again if all my other books went up in flames.
June 5, 2008
I loved Norma Fox Mazer when I was growing up. These stories helped me through my adolescence.
December 26, 2009
it was really good it was about a friendship that was seperated and babyface gets a boyfriend that her friend likes
February 28, 2013
Please read our full review at www.moonlightreads.com.
September 2, 2017
An interesting novel for young teens about growing up, growing apart, life changes and learning that your parents had a different life before you were born. A bit dated, but would probably appeal to ages 15 and under. I thought it was a tad melodramatic, but at least it was about teens facing real, everyday problems, which is something lacking in many of today's teen and children's books.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews