Almost April

by Zoa Sherburne

When her divorced mother dies and her grandmother is ill, Karen goes to live with her father and his new wife.

Genres: Young Adult

224 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1956

About the author

Born in Seattle and reared in Washington, Mrs. Sherburne began writing while attending Whittier Elementary School and in early 1940 had progressed to the point that the weekly Ballard Tribune newspaper published a column of what she called light verse under the headline "The Gremlin's Say."

Then Mrs. Sherburne entered a radio program's limerick-writing contest and won a $250 first prize that was invested in a short-story-writing course. Over the next 15 years she had more than 300 short stories published in Women's Day, Seventeen, Collier's and other magazines.

When television began cutting into the magazines and her agent suggested she start writing books. The first of 13 full-length novels followed. She never learned to type. She said she was beyond that and that she composed as she typed.

All of Mrs. Sherburne's stories and novels dealt with young girls in some kind of crisis, "some kind of problem. One of them was about a girl whose mother was an alcoholic." That book, "Jennifer," eventually won an award from the Child Study Association of America.

Originally it was turned down by a publisher who said they could not publish anything like that. Two years later they called and asked, `Do you still have that book sitting around? " Her books were translated into 27 languages.

Another, "Stranger In The House," became a made-for-television movie starring Lindsay Wagner.

For many years she was a single parent because her husband of 30 years, Herbert, died when the younger children were small. Mrs. Sherburne did not remarry.

Reviews

[Majenta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zoa Sherburne's first published novel gets her off to an excellent start in her exploration of the problems faced by teenage girls of the 1950s through the 1970s.
Her first main character is Karen Hale, 16 going on 17 and definitely not living a fairytale life. Her parents divorced when she was little and she and her mother just barely got by; then her mother became seriously ill and Karen had to live with her grandmother, whom she at a very early age came right out and said she didn't like, had to take her in. Then her mother died and she had to stay with her grandmother. Now her grandmother is on her way to the hospital and Karen is on her way to stay with the father she hasn't seen in years--and his current wife. They live in a little beachside town where everybody seems to have been alerted that Thad Hale's daughter is coming to town. She steels herself that she won't be there forever--it really won't be that long at all before she can be on her own. Desperately missing her own mother, half-resents the new Mrs. Hale for being so "hale and hearty" in her father's care as he was living out his longtime dream while her mother was so ill. But she finds herself fighting this resentment and accepting her young stepmother's loving concern. What if this place could be a real home for her, a place to form new friendships and dream of and plan for her future? What if "Anything can happen in just over a year" could mean "anything good" just as easily as it could mean the opposite?
Happy Springtime, GoodReaders! Read On! 💙💛🌻

[Andrea Guy · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Marilyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

My teenage self remembers this as a 5 star book ⭐️

[Joanna Warrens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good vintage classic teen novel about a girl learning who she is.

[Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been collecting vintage YA books for a number of years, and now it is time to read them and then get them into the hands of other collectors. I remember the author's name from the Scholastic book clubs of the 1960s, but I don't think I ever read any of them. Wow, was this book fabulous! I do believe it has held up through the years, and it is one that I could just not put down. Karen has not had an easy life. Her parents divorced when she was young, and the animosity between her father and her grandmother continues. When Karen's mother passes away, she has no other choice but to go live with her manipulative and unpleasant grandmother. When Karen is 16 her grandmother falls ill. She then must fly from the east coast to Oregon to live with the father who she feels deserted her and her mother in their time of need. Karen is resistant at first, but then she starts to see the truths about her father emerge. This book is well worth your time. Luckily I have 3 other titles by Sherburne in my collection to read.

[Gail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this many, many years ago. Decided to relive a book from my youth. It was not as satisfying. Te story was going along very well, then it just sort of ended. I wanted more!
Time for some grown-up books again.

[Lori Nemitz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed the book, read it during the summer of 1980.

[KerryT · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great little teen story for girls! No language. One time of kissing. She and her dad had a major fight but if you read the story then you understand. Two of the male characters smoked. I loved the story and gave it 4 1/2 stars.

[Reading with Cats · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Kati Polodna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Books written in the 50’s have such an odd sentimentality to them. Not my favorite. Will probably forget it by tomorrow.

[Mary Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

reread 1/29/05