TO HAVE AND NOT HOLD

by Jessica Lyon ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1954

20 year old Gwen Jeffreys gets her first taste of New York and of true love in a story that deals quite firmly with many of the problems a girl can meet in the big city. At the outset Gwen is living with an aunt and uncle and newly interested in Phil, a young draftsman at the architect's firm where she works as a secretary. When she and Phil find they want to be married, and when Gwen's relatives move away, Gwen goes to stay with an abstract artist's family, the McCunes, whom Phil knows well and who give Gwen a taste of ""bohemianism"", family style. Paralleling this, are the developments in Phil's world of. architecture. Classes four nights a week begin to make Gwen jealous, and at the office, the frowzy wife of one of the bosses with whom Phil must dine unexpectedly- is the straw that breaks the camel's back in his relationship with Gwen. They quarrel and break and it takes some maturing on Gwen's part before a rather melodramatic reconciliation. More adult than most young books, this hits at 16 and 17 year old interests, but still lacks the adequate probing of an effective character study.

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1954

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Macrae Smith

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1954

Categories: FICTION