Up in Seth's Room

by Norma Fox Mazer

Finn is fifteen and in high school. Seth is nineteen and looking for a job. From the moment they meet, they are instantly attracted, and the more time they spend together, the more fun they have. But Finn's parents forbid her to see Seth. They say Seth's too old and that he will be too demanding. Finn argues that she's old enough to handle herself, and she's sure she is.

Up in Seth's attic room, Finn and Seth begin to meet secretly, and as their feelings for each other deepen, Seth wants more. Finn is sure of her love for Seth, but she doesn't know if she's ready for more than kisses.

It's a time of important choices for Finn: How can she convince Seth to wait until they're both more prepared? And how will she show her love for Seth while denying him what he says he wants?

• ISBN10: 0440991900
• ISBN13: 9780440991908
• Publish Date: 15 December 1980 (first published 1 October 1979)
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Out of Print: 18 October 2003
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 10
• Language: English

Reviews

[MurderByDeath]

I bought this book on a lark, feeling nostalgic for the books I read as a pre-teen and remembering this one as one that my BF and I would sneak back and forth between us.  That's almost all I remembered about it though and I expected it to be an eye-rolling what was I thinking? trip down memory lane.   

Only it wasn't - eye-rolling - that is.  It was first published in 1979, but once you get past a very few things that date the book (pay phones and the scandal of "living in sin") what's left is an incredibly relevant story about an intelligent 15 year-old-girl who knows what she wants, isn't afraid to assert herself and is stuck between the parents who are afraid she'll have sex too early and the boyfriend who is afraid she won't.   And you know what?  The author does a brilliant job of illustrating the stereotypical expectations of both males and females and gives us not only a strong protagonist, but a strong male lead too, who screws up and learns from it.   

The best part is the ending that respects the story.  I don't think I ever read anything else from Mazer, but I wish my younger self had; I suspect I missed out.