Flashback Friday is my own little weekly tradition, in which I pick a book from my reading past to highlight — and you’re invited to join in!

Here are the Flashback Friday book selection guidelines:

1. Has to be something you’ve read yourself
   
2. Has to still be available, preferably still in print
3. Must have been originally published 5 or more years ago

Other than that, the sky’s the limit! Join me, please, and let us all know: what are the books you’ve read that you always rave about? What books from your past do you wish EVERYONE would read? Pick something from five years ago, or go all the way back to the Canterbury Tales if you want. It’s Flashback Friday time!

My Flashback Friday for this week:

Seventeenth Summer
by Maureen Daly
(published 1945)

Synopsis (Amazon):

Until the summer before college, Angie Morrow didn’t really date. Her mother didn’t like her to go out much. But no one — not even Angie’s mother — can resist the charm of strikingly handsome Jack Duluth. His good looks grab Angie’s attention from the moment in June when Jack throws Angie a smile at McKnight’s drugstore. And on their first date sailing under the stars — when Jack leans in and whispers to Angie, “You look nice with the wind in your hair,” the strange new feelings begin. Tingles, prickles, warmth: the tell-tale signs of romance. It’s the beginning of an unforgettable summer for Angie, full of wonder, warmth, tears, challenge, and love.

Maureen Daly had created a love story so honest that it has withstood the test of time, winning new fans for more than six decades. Today, this classic is enjoyed by many who think of it as the quintessential love story, and as a glimpse of love in the 1940’s; a refreshing alternative to modern love stories, reflecting the beauty and innocence of new love.

Young adult fiction from before YA was a “thing”, Seventeenth Summer has an innocence to it that is both sweet and old-fashioned. I read this several years ago, at the urging of a colleague who has superb book taste. She remembered this book from her youth, and talked enthusiastically about how much of an impact it had on her at the time. Here’s what I said about it on Goodreads at that point:

I might not have given Seventeenth Summer a second glance, had not a book lover with almost impeccable taste recommended it to me. Written in 1942, Seventeenth Summer is a look into the heart and mind of a 17-year-old Wisconsin girl as she experiences first love over the course of the summer before she starts college. Seventeenth Summer in many ways is quite dated, yet the simplicity of the story in no way diminishes the lovely depiction of the elation, insecurity, and tumult of growing up, falling in love, and ultimately becoming a young woman itching for independence.

Main character Angie spends a lot of time worrying about her reputation, thinking about every nuance of her time with the boy she likes, reveling in the joys of summertime, and just living life on the cusp of adulthood. The author was herself still in her teens when she wrote this book, and there’s a freshness in the attitude that’s unusual when compared to today’s teen novels. It’s a bit jarring reading a book from the early 1940s that’s so totally immersed in the day to day, with no reference to the war consuming so much of the rest of the world at that time — but in a way, that just reinforces both the innocence of the narrative and the feeling that the story, while lovely in its own way, is also ever-so-slightly dated.

I don’t know that I’d recommend Seventeenth Summer to teen readers today. I suspect they’d find it rather bland and uneventful. And yet, it has certainly stayed with women readers of an earlier generation, so clearly it’s a book that was relevant and meaningful in its day. For readers today, I’d say it’s a lovely look back at a particular time, its culture, and its sensibilities. As a snapshot of a by-gone era, it works, with a nostalgic feel that really captures what it must have been like to be a teen at that time, falling in love, with the whole world open and full of wonder.

What older books are on your flashback radar this week? Link up and share!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Do you host a book blog meme? Do you participate in a meme that you really, really love? I’m building a Book Blog Meme Directory, and need your help! If you know of a great meme to include — or if you host one yourself — please drop me a note on my Contact page and I’ll be sure to add your info!