TWELVE IS TOO OLD

by Peggy Mann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 15, 1980

Mann's most blatantly didactic story yet starts out in the Judy Blume mode with references to developing ""tittles,"" then launches into a two-chapter-long biology class lesson on the dangers of pot. Clearly a mouthpiece for the author, Jody's seventh-grade biology teacher is one of the new anti-pot crusaders who preach scientific objectivity while dispensing selective alarms. As well it might, the lecture terrifies Jody, so that she doesn't smoke the ""special birthday present"" offered by her older sister Linda, a problem pothead. Linda does sample the stuff and totally freaks out, ending up in the hospital emergency room where lab tests show the pot was laced with PCP. ""I'm just so glad that you didn't take that stuff,"" a sobered Linda tells Jody later. And Jody turns twelve without trepidation, confident now that she can resist peer pushers without loss of face. Cautionary trash.

Pub Date: Feb. 15, 1980

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1980

Categories: FICTION