UP A ROAD SLOWLY

by Irene Hunt ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 21, 1966

**""Kindness, compassion and a sense of humor""--these qualities, rather than an external resemblance, link Julie's story to Across Five Aprils, Miss Hunt's earlier novel. There is one other likeness, a long time span: we first meet Julie as a self-centered seven-year-old and leave her on the threshhold of college, reciprocating the sometimes impenetrable affections of her family and the love of Danny, her childhood companion. Her painful experiences she has assimilated and transformed into strength but not forgotten: her jealousy at not being No. 1 to her newly-married sister; her cruelty to Aggie Kilpin, an undernourished -- and smelly -- retarded girl who died uncared for and uncaring; her disillusionment over worthless Brett Kingsman, whom she had tried to think of as a wronged but valiant figure. (This last episode, oddly structured and overfamiliar, is the only weak one in the book.) The story abounds in rich minor characters, most memorably Uncle Haskell, an alcoholic and a pathological liar, who had ""a kind of bland assurance that all the world loved him and believed in him."" Julie's maturing wisdom and the subtlety of her perceptions mark this as a teen-age book; her extreme youth at the beginning should be considered only as a beginning. Unfortunately, the title and the cover are forbidding, and the heavy binding suggests a juvenile -- handicaps that the wise librarian will know how to overcome. The author is adept at distinguishing the genuine from the spurious: Julie is a genuine character, and girls who go up the road with her will share in her growing up.

Pub Date: Nov. 21, 1966

ISBN: 0425188175

Page Count: -

Publisher: Follett

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1966

Categories: FICTION