I've just re-read this book, which I've read maybe 3 times over the last 30 years. Each time, I've loved it. If you like character-driven fiction, this is as good as it gets. If you like Norma Klein, this is her best. Too bad that it's stuck in the YA ghetto. I'm now a 64-year-old guy, and I find it perfectly satisfying as an adult book about two teens, first love, a clash of cultures (middle class Ohio versus Jewish Manhattan) with a nice story arc with a touching ending. Judged as an adult title, the sex is very mild. The friendships and love and confusion are very real. The parents are believable and sympathetic even as they mess things up. Everybody is white and heterosexual, which is the only thing that makes the story seem a little bit dated.

Ten years from now (hoping I'm still around), I bet I read it again, and I bet I still love it.

One quibble: the Fawcett edition cover shows a clingy, blond girl with straight hair whereas the character Jody is upright, independent, with dark curly hair. The boy, Lyle, on the cover appears kind of snotty, which is the opposite of the Lyle depicted in the book, and he appears to be looking down Jody's blouse, which the Lyle in the story would never do. I'm just sayin'... ( )