Book #21: Peyton Place

Book #21: Peyton Place
Author: Grace Metalious
Pages: 372
Grade: A
Buyability: 7/10 (probably in the library, but good enough to own)
Status: My sister got this for HER pop lit class, but I have absorbed it into my own collection

Review: This is a really famous book I read for pop lit class and I devoured it despite the fact it's a bit tough to read here and there cause it's so packed with information! Peyton Place (PP) is actually the basis for modern soap operas in a lot of ways...it really would have been a shocking book for its time so I get the appeal and shock value back then. Did you know the character of "Peyton" on One Tree Hill and the title of Melrose PLACE are both tributes to PP? Yep.

To sum up, it's the story of the inhabitants of a small New England town called Peyton Place, named after a black guy who managed to get a ton of $$$, build a castle, which attracted other people to the area, and then the castle looms over the place forever...the people in the town are BIG on gossip and there happens to be a lot of it to go around. It takes place over 3 sections of time - when the younger characters (Allison, Selena, Norman, Rodney etc.) are at the cusp of high school at 14, when they are just about graduated at 17, and a couple of years after that.

I can't really say much more about the plot cause it's SO interwoven. Nearly every character has a plot arc, some have several. Overall though this book is fabulous, definitely not just another 'school book' for sure! I loved the way it wove between stories so effortlessly, you never sat and read too much about one person or family and you were never bored, especially because you were always surprised. This was a GREAT book! Read it.