©1996, ProMotion, inc.
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![[Little Jordan]]( ../images/littlejordan.gif)
Teetering between childhood and adolescence, thirteen-year-old Meg Hinton is pushed into a new, more complicated life when she finds the body of a drowned girl floating in the Little Jordan River. The death of the little girl (whose name is never mentioned) and the end of Meg's own girlhood are inextricably linked in this short, bittersweet debut novel by Marly Youmans.
This eventful thirteenth summer leads Meg to look at her peaceful rural world with new eyes. The death of the child and her mother's subsequent suicide attempt initiate Meg into an understanding of adult worries and cares. Her own mother's relationship with a new boyfriend (whose rise and fall Meg recounts with scathing wit) teaches Meg that her mother is more than just a parent. In this summer Meg also comes to terms with her feelings for her father, who abandoned the family when Meg was a baby.
Youmans gives Meg a voice that is both wise and questioning and which is completely believable. Meg's tentative steps toward love with the proverbial boy-next-door are handled especially well, with just the right mix of nervousness, reticence, and excitement.
The greatest strength of novel, however, lies in Youman's marvelous evocation of a small Southern town baking in the summer heat. Flashlights twinkling over a darkened field, the feel of fresh-cut hay under bare feet, the shocking cold of a spring-fed river, and the sweet tang of fresh lemonade on a scorching day are described so clearly that even readers who have never experienced such things will feel as if they have.
This brief snapshot of a girl making the transition into womanhood is a simple yet delightful treat, as deliciously painful and wonderful as an ice cube melting on the tongue on a steamy August day.
©1996, ProMotion, inc.