The Edge of Next Year

by Mary Stolz

The events of his mother's death and his father's resultant alcoholism descend upon 14-year-old Orin Woodward. This strong-willed, intelligently thoughtful youngster assesses the events that have catapulted him into an adult dimension, and takes charge of the household and his precociously effervescent brother as best he can. Orry engages hope, snares it and wrestles it home.

212 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1974

About the author

Mary Stolz was a noted author for children and adolescents whose novels earned critical praise for the seriousness with which they took the problems of young people. Two of her books ''Belling the Tiger'' (1961) and ''The Noonday Friends'' (1965), were named Newbery Honor books by the ALA but it was her novels for young adults that combined romance with realistic situations that won devotion from her fans. Young men often created more problems and did not always provide happy ever after endings. Her heroines had to cope with complex situations and learn how to take action whether it was working as nurses (The Organdy Cupcakes), living in a housing project (Ready or Not), or escaping from being a social misfit by working for the summer as a waitress (The Sea Gulls Woke Me).

Reviews

[Mary JL · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Why did we go?" he cried."...If we'd started earlier or later or if we hadn't gone..."

When some disaster befalls us, we all do this---If Only this and If Only that. Orin, at 14 in no different. On the way home from an outing at a local resturant, a hit and run driver slams their car. Orin, his father and brother survivie--but Orin's mother is killed.

Mary Stolz in an excellent writer for older teens, and this book explores what happens to Orin and his family when his mother is killed. Orin is an incredibly well drawn character and his feelings and those of his father and brother are well written.

Written for older teens, but I read it as adult and found it very excellent---in fact, I think almost all of Mary Stoz's books are worthwhile and I seek them out in used bookstores or libraries, though a few have been reprinted.

Recommended for anyone who wants a good story.

[Brandon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I only wish the first 3/4ths of this book had been as enthralling and well written as the last 4th. Besides some style faux pas, like repeating words for emphasis and a lot of telling rather than showing, this story was rather good. The Edge of Next Year feels like a real diamond-in-the-rough though, which is sad, because you'll find yourself feeling sorry for the main character and wishing his tale in life had been better told. I also think the father as a character should have had a lot more "screen time" per se; the dynamic of anxiety and helplessness the protagonist feels is only on full display toward the end of the book. I read for the most part a chronology of spelled out feelings, and of character development as plot, rather than a story (save for the legitimately amazing final stretch).

[Debby]

Orin Woodward was 14 when his mother was killed in a hit-and-run accident. His father, Eliot, unable to cope with his bereavement, begins drinking. Orin is forced to take responsibility for the household chores, his father, and his ten-year-old brother Victor, a genius when it came to animals. Orin, struggling to overcome is own grief and cover for his father has a limited social life and increasingly less patience with his father's drinking. Finally he can take it no longer. His father gets the message and contacts AA to make a new start. Ends on a note of hope and optimism.

Written simply, this openly confronts the problem of death and alcohol as an escape mechanism. It deals with sudden death of a close relative in a way that would have been unheard of 15 years ago.

Easy reading but good. Covers an area that needs to be treated.