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Elsie Edwards #3
Seventeen and In-Between
At seventeen, Elsie Edwards, once the fat girl of fifth grade, later slender but insecure in ninth grade, now has boyfriend problems that once would have seemed too good to be true.
176 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1985
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
September 14, 2022
3.5 stars
This is a YA followup to Nothing's Fair in Fifth Grade, and it is full of major angst and drama. Wow. Elsie and friends start junior year, and Elsie turns 17. Her boyfriend (now a college boy) decides that means she’s ready for sex and constantly pressures her about it. It’s really creepy.
Instead of dealing with the issue, Elsie mostly ignores it by writing letters (actual letters) to former classmate Jack, who has dropped out of school to become a lumberjack near Forks, Washington. Other friends and family are having drama, too.
It’s pretty short and pretty engrossing, though I questioned a lot of Elsie’s decisions (or lack thereof). It’s a story about falling out of love with one person and falling in love with another. And Elsie’s stepmom learns a valuable lesson: If a guy cheats on his wife with you, don’t be surprised when he cheats on you with someone else.
There was a lot of slang I didn’t understand, and I’m roughly the age of these characters. The author does a lot of body-shaming. Lots of characters are described as fat or ugly or other unflattering terms. Maybe this was common in the 80s and we’ve become a bunch of oversensitive babies. But it still seemed harsh and uncalled-for.
Language: Mild
Sexual Content: Pressure for sex, fantasies about sex
Violence: Mild
Harm to Animals:
Harm to Children:
Other (Triggers):
This is a YA followup to Nothing's Fair in Fifth Grade, and it is full of major angst and drama. Wow. Elsie and friends start junior year, and Elsie turns 17. Her boyfriend (now a college boy) decides that means she’s ready for sex and constantly pressures her about it. It’s really creepy.
Instead of dealing with the issue, Elsie mostly ignores it by writing letters (actual letters) to former classmate Jack, who has dropped out of school to become a lumberjack near Forks, Washington. Other friends and family are having drama, too.
It’s pretty short and pretty engrossing, though I questioned a lot of Elsie’s decisions (or lack thereof). It’s a story about falling out of love with one person and falling in love with another. And Elsie’s stepmom learns a valuable lesson: If a guy cheats on his wife with you, don’t be surprised when he cheats on you with someone else.
There was a lot of slang I didn’t understand, and I’m roughly the age of these characters. The author does a lot of body-shaming. Lots of characters are described as fat or ugly or other unflattering terms. Maybe this was common in the 80s and we’ve become a bunch of oversensitive babies. But it still seemed harsh and uncalled-for.
Language: Mild
Sexual Content: Pressure for sex, fantasies about sex
Violence: Mild
Harm to Animals:
Harm to Children:
Other (Triggers):
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December 13, 2014I read this a long time ago and the only thing I remember about it is a plotline where Elsie's boyfriend wants her to have sex with him and continues to advance this agenda over time, wanting her to go on the pill so that by her seventeenth birthday she'll be protected, telling her she's going to be a "big girl" (ick), and Elsie kind of nods along with it without saying anything to him but feels weird about it. Then on her 17th birthday he gives her a card meant for a little girl who is turning 7, where he writes in a 1 in front of the 7 along with something like "remember, you're a big girl now", at which point Elsie reveals that she never actually went on the pill and breaks up with him. And good for her. Just a little bit creepy in my book.
April 23, 2015
An attractive 17-year-old does not sleep with anyone. At all.
June 8, 2008
Just got this off paperbackswap.com...it was interesting to see what happened with the characters in "Nothing's Fair In Fifth Grade" as they got older. These websites are great for finding out about books you didn't know existed!
October 30, 2007
One of my favorites as a pre-teen.
June 5, 2011
It was fine. Classic teen romance novel debating, best friend, popular boyfriend. Hmmmmmmm, which do I want. peer pressure all the usal.
October 21, 2023
This one did not hold up as well as the 9th grade blues.
There was more cringe beyond the "You're a big girl now" birthday card that other reviews mention.
The wondering about his hair color, the checking the baby while naked, the holocaust play, the snark at the poor "slutty" girl and the sneers at her addicted mom....
I'd skip this one, but I do love Elsie.
There was more cringe beyond the "You're a big girl now" birthday card that other reviews mention.
The wondering about his hair color, the checking the baby while naked, the holocaust play, the snark at the poor "slutty" girl and the sneers at her addicted mom....
I'd skip this one, but I do love Elsie.
December 22, 2025
Another quick re-read to help make my new reading goal for 2025. Like its predecessor (How Do You Lose Those 9th Grade Blues) this did not age well, either. One less star on this sequel for being sadder. :(
April 19, 2020
Another reread. This book is painfully dated. I remember reading it as a kid, not too long after it was published, and it felt dated then.
March 23, 2024
Yikes.
May 26, 2025
Such depth with the characters. I love Jack.
September 17, 2023
I loved seeing how Elsie Edwards continued to grow and mature in this book. She deals with her childhood trauma and still moves forward in a mostly thoughtful way. This author is a master at getting into the minds of teenagers, and this book is timeless.
June 29, 2018
[Read for a mother-daughter book club]
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews