Drop-Out

by Jeannette Eyerly

teen romance from the 1950's

Genres: Young Adult

189 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1963

About the author

YA adult author, pioneer of delicate, controversial subjects. Also columnist.

Reviews

[Alma · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was OK. I thought that it was a nice short read but didn't think much of it. It was fun to read a book written in a older style and older language. Just hearing about how life was like with just small things like being paid 2 dollars a hour was interesting. My golden line is "Even if Mitch had tried to make himself believe that fellows who get married when they are teen-agers are more grown-up than fellows who wait, she was the one one who should have been strong enough to say no." This quote is a good example of the "older" language when she says "fellows".

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two teenagers, a girl from a dysfunctional blended family and a boy heading towards juvenile delinquency, decide to leave school, marry, and strike out on their own. They find this easier said than done, especially when they try to find work, only to learn that, without a high school diploma, nearly all jobs are closed to them. Effective story, with an important message.

[Stephanie A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mitch seems like the absolute epitome of "guy your strict parents are absolutely right to ban you from seeing," but I appreciate the author's attempt to give him some credit in having obvious aptitude for mechanic work, if not book learning, showing that there are different kinds of intelligence. Of course, dropping out of high school and driving off in a blizzard in the middle of the night to get married does not demonstrate any of them.

(He's not a bad guy, but he's also super not husband material, and I don't think a few years would make a difference on that front. His temper control is...Not Great, for starters.)

That said, while it doesn't happen until the 2nd half of the book, it's definitely fun to read about their ill-advised, bumbling attempts to get hitched and make it on their own! Plagued by issue after issue, from difficulty finding someone to marry them at all to unexpected expenses, they get a firsthand look at just how hard it is to cobble together an income with minimal savings and no support, even with the verbal promise of a future job. It turns out you can fall out of love super fast as a teenager, imagine that! Like, literally the first time you experience mild hardship and a cute new boy chats with you for two minutes.

Bonus, wise advice from a local waitress: "And I suppose you think that just as soon as you get married everything will be fine and dandy and that you'll both settle down and live happily ever after?"

Since it's aimed at young teens, it certainly gets a bit didactic in hammering home how NO ONE respectable will hire a person without a high school diploma anymore, but even that is a really interesting look at a 1960s entry-level job hunt, starting with there are separate ad sections for men's and women's jobs. I especially liked Donnie's attempt to interview for a typist job at an insurance agency (absolutely gobsmacked by the section for "Physical Defects" on the application form). The characters aren't especially memorable, but I was enchanted by the story and setting from pretty much the first page and it got better all the way to the end.

Anyway -- I'm glad I finally got to read one of Eyerly's books! Thank you, OpenLibrary.

P.S. I...do kind of want to hang out in Boomtown. At least once. It seems like a fun, happenin' place.

"Buildings scraggled along one side of the street, sidewalks and parking areas fronting them the way they might in any shopping center. [But] the atmosphere was charged, electric, carnival-like. Lights were everywhere. Pink, green, red and yellow neon signs glimmered and winked, traveled in arrows, circles and serpentine patterns in the darkness.

EAT, they demanded. DANCE. Above a vertical sign reading "Joe's Place" a giant hamburger outlined in colored lights appeared and disappeared, bite by bite. NIPPER'S ALL-NITE DRUG, PATTI'S PIZZATERIA, TONY'S TAVERN, THE WOODEN NICKEL, EDDY'S, and THE PUB. Car doors slammed, voices called out, and there was the sound of a girl's tinkly laughter mingling with a saxophone's lonesome, muted wail."

[Jazzy Lemon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love, Lies, and Studies...or not.

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 3 out of 5]

Personal copy

Donnie struggles a bit in school and has a difficult home life. Her father is an inventor who struggles with employment, and her stepmother is a bit mean. Her half-sister is annoying, and there are younger brothers and a young sister as well, so Donnie has to help out a lot. After fainting in class (she didn't eat), she is carried to the school nurse by Mitch, and the two are soon interested in each other romantically. Mitch also has troubles at home and at school, and drops out. He tries to find a job, and almost takes something sketchy, but instead hatches a plan where he and Donnie will run away to a neighboring state and get married. Things don't go as planned, and there are a lot of problems. The car dies, a wallet goes missing, and Donnie stays at a YWCA while the pair try to get jobs so that can make it back home. The fact that it's hard for high school drop outs to get jobs, and that college is a good option, is mentioned frequently. Eventually, the two realize that getting married is a bad plan, and Donnie gets on a bus home.

Eyerly wrote a lot of books about teen problems, and this ends on an unfinished note, like many books of this era. She protrays the intensity of the relationship well, and discusses Donnie's troubles at home. There are supportive people at school, and a counselor even tries to help her with college applications. Not a bad book, and quite the snapshot of this era, when people got married very young.

[Marian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book got me into reading. Read this in grade school. Has a place of honor on my bookshelf.