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Growing Up in a Hurry
Lonely and alienated from her family, sixteen-year-old Karen finds solace in her love for a Japanese boy until she discovers she is pregnant and must cope with the problem alone.
168 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1973
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 13, 2012
More like skimmed. This was in the library's free to a good home pile and the cover with the girl looking sadly at her flute caught my eye. (I might have also been unconsciously noticing the out of focus kanji behind her, but maybe not.)
This book is dated and wince-inducing in all kinds of ways. Karen is shy and lonely and she starts having sex with what the book refers to a few times as an "Oriental" boy. (This seems to be mostly in the context of her parents being rather stereotypically narrow-minded.) Spoilers for major plot events behind the link.
In summary: this would be an interesting book to read if you were writing a paper about abortion as it's been portrayed in fiction over time. But not very satisfying or enjoyable to actually read. And probably not very relatable for most people who are currently teenagers.
This book is dated and wince-inducing in all kinds of ways. Karen is shy and lonely and she starts having sex with what the book refers to a few times as an "Oriental" boy. (This seems to be mostly in the context of her parents being rather stereotypically narrow-minded.) Spoilers for major plot events behind the link.
In summary: this would be an interesting book to read if you were writing a paper about abortion as it's been portrayed in fiction over time. But not very satisfying or enjoyable to actually read. And probably not very relatable for most people who are currently teenagers.
January 6, 2009
Karen is a 10th grader, she meets this boy named Zach they fall in love. Karen finds out that she is pregnant, zach freaks out and leaves her alone. karen has to grow up fast to take care of her baby.
October 15, 2014
Sixteen-year-old Karen Holmes lives in Sacramento, CA, with her father Ross, who; mother Martha; older sister Pamela, a skater who is in college; younger sister Kit, twelve years old and a budding ballerina; and lazy, old cat Toku. The family has just moved into the house built by her Grandpa Holmes, so she is dealing with a new neighborhood and a new school. Karen does not have a good relationship with her parents, and especially her mother. Lonely and feeling alienated, she finds solace in playing her flute and studying everything Japanese. Falling in love with a Japanese-American boy named Steve Nakamura, she is now happy until she discovers she is pregnant. Steve drops her like a hot potato and she must grow up fast to cope with the problem alone. What are her options? Which one will she choose?
The language is not good. The “d” and “h” words are found several times, and the terms “Lord” and “God” are frequently used as interjections. References to “Potheads” at school occur, and as a new kid Karen notes that she is not offered a “joint,” though on one occasion at a party, Steve takes a joint and even passes it on to Karen who takes one puff. Other people smoke cigarettes and pipes and drink wine, whiskey, and Scotch. Karen lies a lot. And, of course, there is the sexual element of the story. Karen is not the only girl at school to get pregnant. She even finds out that Pam is on the pill, so she must be “doing that.” The descriptions of the sexual relationship between Karen and Steve are not downright pornographic, but they are plain and some border on being lewd. “I wanted to be joined then, there, on that afternoon under the tree and under the sky….And so he made love to me. It was over very quickly. And it was actually quite awkward.” Later she says, “His hand was under my sweater and I let him caress me….We had made love six or was it seven times already in a secret place we had found in the park and were far less awkward than that first time.”
SPOILER ALERT: I cannot give an assessment of this book without telling what happened. Karen chooses to get an abortion. Some of the first words out of Steve’s mouth when he learns that she is pregnant are, “If you were, you’d probably want an abortion.” In fact, even Martha, who has been against abortion, immediately says when she learns of the situation, “There’s only one thing to do. Get her an abortion.” When asked by Ross if she had changed her mind, Martha then explains, “I am against abortion for most people.” Of course, this book was written shortly after seven black-robed tyrants basically said that they couldn’t determine when life begins, so they automatically declared all pre-born babies non-human. We have learned a lot since then, and all the scientific information supports the pro-life position. Yes, Karen wept “for everyone, but mostly for the tiny life that had just been snuffed out," but still decided that it was the best choice to insure that her future life will be a better one. There is another choice—adoption. Both of our sons were put up for adoption by teenage girls who were precisely in the same situation Karen was in. A good book about a girl who makes a bad choice, learns from her mistake, and does the right thing might be useful, but if I had daughters I would not want them to read this book because, whether the author intended it to be so or not, it is a pure puff-piece of pro-abortion propaganda. It may reflect the lives of worldly people in the 1970s but has no benefit for godly families.
The language is not good. The “d” and “h” words are found several times, and the terms “Lord” and “God” are frequently used as interjections. References to “Potheads” at school occur, and as a new kid Karen notes that she is not offered a “joint,” though on one occasion at a party, Steve takes a joint and even passes it on to Karen who takes one puff. Other people smoke cigarettes and pipes and drink wine, whiskey, and Scotch. Karen lies a lot. And, of course, there is the sexual element of the story. Karen is not the only girl at school to get pregnant. She even finds out that Pam is on the pill, so she must be “doing that.” The descriptions of the sexual relationship between Karen and Steve are not downright pornographic, but they are plain and some border on being lewd. “I wanted to be joined then, there, on that afternoon under the tree and under the sky….And so he made love to me. It was over very quickly. And it was actually quite awkward.” Later she says, “His hand was under my sweater and I let him caress me….We had made love six or was it seven times already in a secret place we had found in the park and were far less awkward than that first time.”
SPOILER ALERT: I cannot give an assessment of this book without telling what happened. Karen chooses to get an abortion. Some of the first words out of Steve’s mouth when he learns that she is pregnant are, “If you were, you’d probably want an abortion.” In fact, even Martha, who has been against abortion, immediately says when she learns of the situation, “There’s only one thing to do. Get her an abortion.” When asked by Ross if she had changed her mind, Martha then explains, “I am against abortion for most people.” Of course, this book was written shortly after seven black-robed tyrants basically said that they couldn’t determine when life begins, so they automatically declared all pre-born babies non-human. We have learned a lot since then, and all the scientific information supports the pro-life position. Yes, Karen wept “for everyone, but mostly for the tiny life that had just been snuffed out," but still decided that it was the best choice to insure that her future life will be a better one. There is another choice—adoption. Both of our sons were put up for adoption by teenage girls who were precisely in the same situation Karen was in. A good book about a girl who makes a bad choice, learns from her mistake, and does the right thing might be useful, but if I had daughters I would not want them to read this book because, whether the author intended it to be so or not, it is a pure puff-piece of pro-abortion propaganda. It may reflect the lives of worldly people in the 1970s but has no benefit for godly families.
October 4, 2013
Its a nice story..I was learned so many things here...Try to witness what's in the reality.:)
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews