SECOND BEST

by Barbara Clayton ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 13, 1963

Again, in this the third of her teen age novels we have covered, Barbara Clayton deals competently- if without particular originality- with a topic of recognizable pattern for this age group... Bespectacled, red-headed Lucy accepts herself as a perpetual second best to her popular sister Meg. Standing in the shadows, Lucy watches Meg breeze through high school with all the desirable young men trailing her. Lucy looks ahead to the summer in Kettlecove, Maine and a chance to be different, even to be first. While Meg is lost in the club's social whirl, Lucy devotes her time to sailing lessons, and- as might be expected, emerges as a heroine, with the attention of two young men captured. The black and white characterizations merge in a mural of dull grey, while events seem repetitious or trivial. One could wish that this had had the vitality that Tomboy (1961-p. 543 J-193) revealed.

Pub Date: April 13, 1963

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Funk & Wagnalls

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1963

Categories: FICTION