"Amy Goodrow is a high school sophomore in the small mill town of Shirley Falls in the early 1970's. Her mother is Isabelle Goodrow. Amy's father died when she was a baby, so Isabelle supports the family working as a secretary at the mill.
Isabelle is an overprotective mother, but she thinks she is doing a good job with Amy until she discovers that Amy is having an inappropriate romance with her math teacher. Isabelle forces the man to leave town and violently punishes Amy. In the process, she deeply, and perhaps permanently, damages her relationship to Amy."
Susanna Marlowe, Resident Scholar
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Review Analysis of Amy and Isabelle
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book?
- thoughtful
Time/era of story
- 1960's-1970's
Romance/Romance Problems
Yes
Kids growing up/acting up?
Yes
Struggle with:
- Mother (or standin)
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Age group of kid(s) in story:
- high school
Loving/sexing?
- guy chasing
Lover is
- much younger/older
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- student
Age:
- a teen
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- soggy whimpering jelly muffin
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- healthy but a geeky weakling
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Female
Age:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- secretary
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- throughout most of the book.
How sensitive is this character?
- soggy whimpering jelly muffin
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- healthy but a geeky weakling
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 4 (a fair amount)
United States
Yes
The US:
- Northeast
Small town?
Yes
Small town people:
- nice, like Andy/Opie/Aunt Bee
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- explicit references to deaths
Sex in book?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- vague references
- descript of kissing
- touching of anatomy
- impregnation/reproduction
- descript. of female anat. (the big B's)
- descript. of female anat. (the big V)
- descript. of nude males (the big P)
- rape/molest (yeech!)
Unusual Style:
- a lot of flashback and forwards
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
