Miss American Pie: A Diary of Love,
Secrets, and Growing Up in the 1970s
by Margaret Sartor
Secrets, and Growing Up in the 1970s
by Margaret Sartor
MISS AMERICAN PIE by Margaret Sartor
Category: Non-Fiction
Age Recommendation: Grades 9+
Release Date: 5/29/07
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Reviewed by: Marta Morrison
Rating: 5 Stars
This was a good book. It is an actual journal of the author written in the seventies. I graduated from high school and
college in the seventies so I could relate to many of the references made in the journal. I think today's girls could also
relate, though, because the themes in the journals are the same struggles that today's teens go through.
It starts when Margaret is in the seventh grade and goes through her senior year. At first the entries are brief and some are
quite funny. Later they get more poignant.
Margaret is boy crazy, bored, rebellious, and is trying to figure out what she believes. In the seventies, we had many issues
involving desegregation, drugs, sex -- it was the era of the sexual revolution, feminism, and the big mega-churches were
founded and grew in that decade. I laughed at many of the entries, especially when she would write of some profound
event and not elaborate and the next entry would be something very trivial.
For example: November 8 -- Nixon was elected president. November 9 -- Everyone says me and Vernon would make a
good couple. (Nixon being elected president was exciting and had worldwide ramifications but her and Vernon being a
good couple didn't last more than a week.) Another example: August 8 -- President Nixon resigned; made appointment to
get my hair cut.
I love that entry. It is such a teen statement. MISS AMERICAN PIE is realistic and fun to read. Plus, it makes you want
to start a journal, too.
Category: Non-Fiction
Age Recommendation: Grades 9+
Release Date: 5/29/07
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Reviewed by: Marta Morrison
Rating: 5 Stars
This was a good book. It is an actual journal of the author written in the seventies. I graduated from high school and
college in the seventies so I could relate to many of the references made in the journal. I think today's girls could also
relate, though, because the themes in the journals are the same struggles that today's teens go through.
It starts when Margaret is in the seventh grade and goes through her senior year. At first the entries are brief and some are
quite funny. Later they get more poignant.
Margaret is boy crazy, bored, rebellious, and is trying to figure out what she believes. In the seventies, we had many issues
involving desegregation, drugs, sex -- it was the era of the sexual revolution, feminism, and the big mega-churches were
founded and grew in that decade. I laughed at many of the entries, especially when she would write of some profound
event and not elaborate and the next entry would be something very trivial.
For example: November 8 -- Nixon was elected president. November 9 -- Everyone says me and Vernon would make a
good couple. (Nixon being elected president was exciting and had worldwide ramifications but her and Vernon being a
good couple didn't last more than a week.) Another example: August 8 -- President Nixon resigned; made appointment to
get my hair cut.
I love that entry. It is such a teen statement. MISS AMERICAN PIE is realistic and fun to read. Plus, it makes you want
to start a journal, too.