This is one of the funniest books ever. He nails perfectly a seventeen year old young man - no matter the time period.

"NOBODY'S BUSINESS IS SAFE FFROM THAT CHILD!"

Small town romance is an uphill battle (not to mention source of public amusement) for easily-smitten seventeens in the 19 teens, when everyone knew everyone else's business--especially the protagonist's bratty little sister. It isn't enough that a fell

“F.S. Fitzgerald has mentioned "Seventeen" in his personal "10 best books" he ever read list as ‘The funniest book I’ve ever read’". Wikipedia

That’s quite a plug from a famous fellow Princetonian, but hardly surprising. A hundred years ago, Newton Booth Tarkington was one of America’s most celebrate

My mother gave me this to read when I was sixteen or seventeen. I did not get her irony but I loved the book. I knew about romantic obsession.

In which a self-important, lovestruck teenager is soundly (though rarely undeservedly, or cruelly for that matter) humiliated at every turn.

I've never had the patience for most things written before, say, 1972, and over the past few years I've begun to hate that about myself. I happened to read "Se

Interesting fast read. While there is some popular notion that "teenager" first became a category in the 1950s, this book would seem to refute that. The last chapter is just a little too precious for the rest of the book in my mind. The vocabulary seems much more advanced than I would expect of a pr

This book is a hilarious take on adolescence, even after 100 years. You will cringe as it reminds you of the constant humiliations of being young and in love. If you are of a certain parental age, about halfway through you will also wish fervently, along with Mr. Prather, that Miss Pratt would just

3.5 stars. This is another one of Tarkington's fluffy humorous confections—very much like Gentle Julia, with its themes of infatuated young suitor and mischievous young relative, except that the primary characters are even sillier, if such a thing is possible. Light on plot, but with plenty of irres

DNF at 100 pages.

Mini-review:
I don't really know enough about what the literary world was like in 1916 to say whether or not it's surprising that this was the bestselling book of the year. However, it's not at all surprising to me that this book has been forgotten relatively quickly. The book is goi

This has been one of my favorite books since I was 10 years old. Even though it was written in the early 1900's I still find it so witty and funny.