Bright Days, Stupid Nights [Hardcover]

Norma Mazer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1992

Landing a prestigious summer internship on a  Pulitzer Prizewinning newspaper seems ideal for Chris,  who's glad to be taken seriously as a writer and  to get away from his blue-collar father's  expectations.



For Vicki, it's a chance to  grow up, shine in the big time, and maybe even get  a scholarship so she won't end up stuck in a  dead-end job like her mother.



For  Elizabeth, it means time to distance herself from the  suffocating relationship she has with her  boyfriend.



For Faith, it's a way to  forget the past and try to be just a normal  teenager.



Weeks of work and play wear on their  relationships: What do they expect of each other?  What do they expect of themselves?


From the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This snappily paced tale follows four teens from disparate circumstances through their summer internship at a small-town newspaper. In focusing alternately on driven, ambitious Vicki and good-humored, macho Chris, the Mazers ( Heartbeat ; The Solid Gold Kid ) round out their engrossing narrative with male and female points of view. Perspicacity artfully blends with comedy: readers can empathize with the emotions of interns Vicki, Chris, Elizabeth and Faith while laughing at Chris's hilariously awful fiction or Elizabeth's self-obsessed monologues. The novel shifts from being a cozy romance to a tension-filled drama when Vicki's decision to write an article exposing Faith's famous parentage sets her at odds with her peers, who wind up taking surprisingly extreme steps to stop her. While their writing is never preachy, the Mazers provide much food for thought on such pertinent issues as journalistic integrity and freedom of the press versus an individual's right to privacy. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 7-10-- A summer internship with a Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper publisher is a sure step to success for Vicki, 14. With an ambitious mother and plenty of talent, she finds it easy to pretend to be 16. In contrast, Chris, 17, must struggle for release from his conservative Greek father who wants him to be an engineer, not a writer. Two sophisticated girls, Elizabeth and Faith, complete the intern group. When Vicki stumbles upon a secret involving Faith and announces her determination to write a revealing story, the other three lock her in a rusty, isolated van to per: suade her otherwise. Alternating viewpoints in dialogue-driven narratives keep this story from having the flow and urgency of the Mazers' The Solid Gold Kid (Delacorte, 1977). Nevertheless, teens will identify with the concerns and devour it. Important issues are examined through the lens of contrast, e.g., Vicki's feeble experiments with alcohol might amuse young teens, but the havoc wreaked in Faith's family by full-blown alcoholism evokes quite a different feeling. Ultimately, this story is about making choices and communicating needs, tough tasks for teens and many adults as well.
- Cindy Darling Codell, Clark Middle School, Winchester, KY
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 194 pages
• Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers; First Edition edition (July 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553081268
• ISBN-13: 978-0553081268
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,216,548 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars It was alright., November 5, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Bright Days, Stupid Nights (Paperback)

This book wasn't one of my favorites. It was ok, but the storyline was kind of confusing, and it got drug out a lot. The teens seemed to be a little too mature for their age, and it really had no point to it.

3.0 out of 5 stars Bright Days Stupid Nights, April 12, 2007

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Bright Days, Stupid Nights (Paperback)

Bright Days Stupid Nights is interesting. I would recomend this book to ages 10 and up. the characters names ae Chris,Faith,Elizabeth,and,Vicki. Vicki is always fighting with her friends and they were with Vicki one time while driving and kicked her out because she got on their nerves. Vicki smokes and that is part of the reason shes always mad. she comes home from school and does her homework, she is also good at math.


The character named Faith is sometimes happy,nervous,and courageous.She has blonde hair,green eyes and she is short. Faith likes to talk alot most of the time she is calm,and she can run fast.In school she is intelligent,and she also likes to read,Faith is athletic too. She is 20 yrs old and she likes to drive around and go shopping. After she is done with the day,she goes to her athletics practice. Then after that she goes home and sleeps. As I said I would reccomend Bright Days Stupid Nights to ages 10 and up.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not my type of book, March 6, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Bright Days, Stupid Nights (Paperback)

I didn't quite get the point of this book. I understand that they went to be newspaper interns, but why exactly did they go? Did there school reccommend it to them? Why did Faith not want anyone to know her family past? It left blanks that should have told the story.