APRIL WEDDING

If any teen-ager contemplates early marriage after reading this extremely convincing description of adolescent impulsiveness and its ramifications, he will have achieved the status arrived at by the young couple in this book. When Jean and Bill elope shortly before their graduation from high school, it is to them a move toward that perfect world in which they will no longer be bound by restrictions, a world of prolonged romance. But the practical aspects of marriage soon intrude, with Bill suddenly faced with financial responsibility for which he is unequipped, and Jean with the prospect of an unwelcome motherhood. Depression permeates this account of the first year of their marriage, their fears, disappointments, and terror at being trapped. With the second year and parenthood, and the help of intelligent and financially generous parents, and a more mature approach to their problems, the marriage survives. The book depends for what value it has on its intense realism; here is no rose-colored view of high school marriage. But it is important to note that a margin of safety, not often present, is offered in the role of parents able to meet the financial rap. It should be taken with a grain of salt!