Not the best written coming of age story. Told in alternating chapters by Brenda Belle and Adam, they detail the time that Adam lives with his maternal grandfather in Vermont after getting expelled from a private school. ( )

I first read this book around 1974, when I was 9 or 10. I loved it then and I love it now. It's written in first person, but with a twist. Each of the main characters (Adam and Brenda Belle) has a chapter, then the next has a chapter. Adam is the sixteen year-old son of a famous political man (although the book never makes clear if Adam's father is an elected official or not) and Brenda Belle is the fatherless fifteen year-old town tomboy. They meet in Storm, Vermont and becomes kind of boyfriend and girlfriend and definitely become friends. They each learn to deal with things that life has given them and learn to like themselves better in the process. M. E. Kerr (pen name of Mary Jane Meaker) is one of the best YA writers of all time, maybe THE best. She was kind enough to write back to me on a tribute website and I cherish that. This type of book never goes out of style because teenagers will always be able to relate to what happens to these two quirky and interesting characters. Don't miss this one! ( )