Country girl, city girl

Country girl, city girl 

By Lisa Jahn-Clough

Interest Level: Grades 6+

Reading Level: 4+

It's the summer before eighth grade and Phoebe is a small town farm girl, being raised by her widower father. She's doesn't have a single friend her own age and she's okay with that- she has her goats, her books and her photography. Then comes the phone call from Gerelyn, Phoebe's mom's best friend and college roommate. She's recently tried to commit suicide, is going to be going away for a bit to seek help and needs someone to care for her daughter Melita. When Phoebe learns that Melita will be staying with their family for a bit she's not at all happy about the prospect of losing her solitude and especially from someone from New York with whom she's sure she'll have nothing in common.

Melita enters as a whirlwind, vastly more stylish than Phoebe,who gets her clothes from the Goodwill, and definitely more worldly. Phoebe is instantly entranced. When Melita finds out that Phoebe has never kissed a boy she offers to help her practice. The emotions that arise from their practice kissing sessions confuse Phoebe and come to a head when she later visits Melita in New York only to find that Melita has a boyfriend. This novel tackles the sensitive issue of budding sexuality in a way that rings very true. While budding lesbianism is definitely part of the story, it's not the only one nor necessarily the most important one and Jahn-Clough does a fantastic job of placing it within its proper context.

Jahn-Clough, L. (2004). Country girl, city girl. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.