Seventeen

Tarkington, Booth, 1869-1946Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.8

Word count: 382K words
Chapters: 39

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Seventeen by Booth TarkingtonAuthor: Tarkington, Booth, 1869-1946,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Feb 22, 2006

Editor's review

Seventeen is a light, humorous coming-of-age novel by Tarkington, centering on a seventeen-year-old boy's romantic feelings and everyday family life. Its strength lies in gentle satire of adolescent self-dramatization: the protagonist's nervousness, bravado, and misunderstandings are amplified through the eyes of family and bystanders, producing natural comedy that never loses its sympathy. Tarkington excels at small-town life and adolescent psychology; the book moves briskly in short chapters, making it suitable as light English reading or as a sample of early twentieth-century American popular fiction. It works well for bedtime or commute reading in segments, and for discussing with young readers the awkwardness of growing up. Note that the language carries period colloquialisms and slang, and some social attitudes belong to their time; modern readers should view them historically.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy light, humorous coming-of-age stories and want to practice light English reading
Teachers and parents interested in adolescent psychology and family comedy
Students interested in early twentieth-century American popular fiction
Self-learners who need short chapters and low-pressure English reading material

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting serious literary depth or social critique
Those sensitive to period slang and old-fashioned attitudes who need modern annotations
Readers who prefer strong-plot adventure or suspense narratives

Reading tips

Read chapter by chapter, and after each chapter reflect on which misunderstanding produced the humor, to appreciate the balance of satire.
Note the boy protagonist's bravado versus his true thoughts, and compare with the family's perspective.
When encountering period slang, guess from context first, then verify, to avoid frequently interrupting the rhythm.
Compare with other coming-of-age novels to discuss how different eras write about adolescence.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book suitable for teenagers to read directly?

The language is generally light and the chapters are short, so teenagers can try it, but the book contains early twentieth-century colloquialisms and social attitudes of the time. Parents or teachers may wish to provide some background to help readers distinguish period context from universal growing-up experiences.

Is the English easier than The Frozen Deep?

Both are public-domain English texts, but Seventeen leans toward everyday conversation and family scenes, with relatively short sentences and a lighter read; The Frozen Deep has dense dialogue and tense situations. To build confidence first, start with this book.

Does this e-book include illustrations or annotations?

According to the information available, this is a Project Gutenberg public-domain e-text with brief version details and no indication of illustrations or modern annotations. If historical background is needed, consult public-domain introductions to Tarkington's life and small-town American life of the period.

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About the author

Tarkington, Booth, 1869-1946 Author

Booth Tarkington (1869–1946) was an American novelist and playwright. The library holds 22 of his works, including The Magnificent Ambersons, Alice Adams, Penrod, Seventeen, The Midlander, Penrod and Sam, In the Arena: Stories of Political Life, and The Turmoil. His writing draws largely on small-town life in the American Midwest, and he is known for his delicate, humorous portrayals of adolescent growth and family change, often touching on social manners during periods of transition. Both The Magnificent Ambersons and Alice Adams won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction: the former uses the rise and fall of a family to reflect a changing era, while the latter depicts a young woman's struggles under social pressure. Both remain important works of American realism. Public information is limited, so full biographical details are not expanded here.