A Man for Marcy, by Rosamund du Jardin

Sometimes a weekend has to be spent doing things other than reading the enticing/wonderful/overwhelming pile of review copies.   In my case, this weekend was spent cleaning house...did you know that many cat fleas are now resistant to the flea drops you can buy in the grocery store?  I now know this, to my cost.

So anyway, in the course of cleaning, I organized a few book piles, and picked something light and pointless enough so that I wouldn't get distracted from the work at hand--A Man for Marcy, by Rosamond du Jardin (1954).

I cannot really recommend this, except to those who are already interested in teen romances of the 1950s.  Marcy's steady boyfriend, Steve, has gone to college, leaving her a senior in highschool.  Marcy, a very boring girl, mopes.  After Thanksgiving, she stops moping.  Dates other guys.  Plays chess with an old man in the hospital (which is the one really nice thing about her).   She doesn't get that much more interesting, though.  She says she likes reading poetry, but we never see her crack a book.  We don't even get many good descriptions of 1950s fashions.  And, the real nail in her coffin-- she likes it when Steve is masterful.

So yeah, Marcy's mom has gone back to work as a nurse...but Marcy has no ambition to do anything, it seems.  She is so limited in imagination that she never once daydreams about a future farther away than next month.  No plans for college, career, anything.  Just more exciting dates!

And gee, dating was so much easier back then...all you had to do, apparently, was chat to a guy and next thing you know he'll be asking you out for malteds.

But at least I can put A Man for Marcy away now, in the dim recess of the house where fleas don't go, waiting for when I open my used book store.

PS: Oh dear.  I have just gone to Amazon to get a link for the book, and see now that there is a sequel--Senior Prom--and so help me I am tempted...