"Start with a drive-in movie theater in the 1950s. Add a starstruck and lonely 12-year-old girl, and a handsome drifter. . . . The story unfolds almost cinematically and could make a wonderful movie. Told from Callie's perspective, it captures that childlike innocence and wisdom perfectly . . . a fine first novel from an author to be reckoned with".--"Richmond Times-Dispatch".
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal
YA?During the long, hot summer of 1956 in rural Indiana, Callie Anne Benton, almost 13, is stuck at home on the grounds of the Starlite Drive-in. Her agoraphobic mother has not left the house in five years, trapping her embittered father, who manages the facility, in a job he has grown to hate. Callie Anne is happiest when she is watching movies with her father in the projection booth. The arrival of a drifter, Charlie Memphis, hired to work at the drive-in, promises to make the summer more bearable. Callie Anne, at first enamored of his charms, grows alarmed as she watches the man's kindness toward her mother and the growing relationship between the two. When he coaxes Teal out of the house and perhaps out of her husband's life, Callie Anne is faced with some difficult choices. A disastrous turn of events teaches her the complexities of love and loss. Young adults will enjoy this study of divided loyalties, told in the voice of the grown-up Callie Anne, as she tries to sort out the secrets of that tumultuous summer.?Pat Bangs, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
When developers find a body in a well at the old Starlite Drive-In, Callie Ann Benton knows whose body it is. It takes her back to when she was 12; her father ran the drive-in, and her mother, Teal, had become completely trapped inside her house by agoraphobia. It traps her father, too, forcing him to give up dreams, and his resentment comes out in nasty sniping, continuous put-downs that drain her?until a drifter named Charlie Memphis arrives, falls in love with Teal, and plans to take her and Callie away. This stunning novel is told by 12-year-old Callie, torn between her crush on Memphis, her love for her father, and her resentment of her mother's sexuality and personhood. But the grown-up sensibility of Callie permeates this book; she understands that we are all trapped, that we help to create our traps, and that we are the only ones who can free ourselves from these traps. Recommended for all libraries.?Marylaine Block, St. Ambrose Univ. Lib., Davenport, Ia.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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More About the Author
Marjorie Reynolds is an award-winning author, speaker, writing teacher and former movie-advertising executive.
She most recently published in the anthology, THE PEN AND THE KEY. William Morrow & Co. published her novels, THE STARLITE DRIVE-IN and THE CIVIL WARS OF JONAH MORAN in hardcover, and Berkley released them in paperback. The American Library Association chose THE STARLITE DRIVE-IN as one of the Ten Best Books of the Year for Young Adults. It also received a Barnes & Noble "Discover Great New Writers" award, and it was optioned for film. It was a Literary Guild alternate selection and a Reader's Digest Select Editions book. Rights were sold to seven countries.
Her novels have received praise in numerous newspapers and publications. She has been a speaker and conference presenter for the Pacific Northwest Writers Association, the Oregon Writers Colony, Willamette (OR) Writers Conference, the South Carolina Writers Workshop, The Pacifc Northwest Booksellers Association Trade Show, The Los Angeles Book Fair, The South Carolina Book Festival, the Edmonds (WA) Write on the Sound Writers' Conference, Seattle Writers Association, Seattle Free Lances, and at other literary arts events. Radio stations in Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, and Bloomington, IN, and numerous newspapers throughout the country have interviewed and featured her. She taught advanced popular fiction at the University of Washington Education Outreach program in Seattle.
Before starting her fiction-writing career at the age of 47, Marjorie was Cineplex Odeon's regional advertising director for the Pacific Northwest. She worked for approximately 15 years in the movie advertising business, dealing directly with Hollywood studios. Before that career, she worked as a newspaper reporter in Indiana, Iowa, California, and Washington.
She most recently published in the anthology, THE PEN AND THE KEY. William Morrow & Co. published her novels, THE STARLITE DRIVE-IN and THE CIVIL WARS OF JONAH MORAN in hardcover, and Berkley released them in paperback. The American Library Association chose THE STARLITE DRIVE-IN as one of the Ten Best Books of the Year for Young Adults. It also received a Barnes & Noble "Discover Great New Writers" award, and it was optioned for film. It was a Literary Guild alternate selection and a Reader's Digest Select Editions book. Rights were sold to seven countries.
Her novels have received praise in numerous newspapers and publications. She has been a speaker and conference presenter for the Pacific Northwest Writers Association, the Oregon Writers Colony, Willamette (OR) Writers Conference, the South Carolina Writers Workshop, The Pacifc Northwest Booksellers Association Trade Show, The Los Angeles Book Fair, The South Carolina Book Festival, the Edmonds (WA) Write on the Sound Writers' Conference, Seattle Writers Association, Seattle Free Lances, and at other literary arts events. Radio stations in Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, and Bloomington, IN, and numerous newspapers throughout the country have interviewed and featured her. She taught advanced popular fiction at the University of Washington Education Outreach program in Seattle.
Before starting her fiction-writing career at the age of 47, Marjorie was Cineplex Odeon's regional advertising director for the Pacific Northwest. She worked for approximately 15 years in the movie advertising business, dealing directly with Hollywood studios. Before that career, she worked as a newspaper reporter in Indiana, Iowa, California, and Washington.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Starlite Drive-in,
By Ezra (Vancouver, Washington) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Starlite Drive-In (Library Binding)
I am a twenty-four year old husband, and father, and I've just recently began to really enjoy reading. Although most of the books that I've read have been either action adventures, or romantic adventures, I must say that I now understand why my wife so enjoys love stories. When I first picked up the book to read, I really didn't know what to expect, but within only a few pages I was allready falling in love with Callie Anne. As I read farther into the book, I found my eyes reading every word, while my mind went on a wonderful adventure in rural Indiana. This book brought back memories of my childhood growing up out in the country, and of my young loves. Sometimes I find myself not loving my Wife the way that she needs to be loved, and reading this book really helped me to understand how beautiful she is and that life is too short to take her for granted. Callie Anne also reminds me of how I imagine my little girl to be when she grows up some more. Marjorie Reynolds is a wonderful Author, And I'm looking forward to reading more of her books.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Captivating,
By
This review is from: The Starlite Drive-In (Paperback)
This is by far, one of the best books that I have ever read. From the moment the first chapter turns the clock back to the summer of 1956, I lived out the remainder of the story through Callie Ann's eyes. Marjorie Reynolds paints a clear and vivid picture of the little white house where Callie Ann lives, and the drive in across the grass that stays open all summer. As I absorbed chapter after chapter, all of my senses shifted into overdrive. It was easy to picture the brightly printed shirtwaister dresses that Callie Ann's mother wears, the hot gravel that lines the parking lot and the dreamy romantic entanglements that play themselves out on the big screen as well as below it. This book puts the reader in touch with the all of the wonderful elements of summer while focusing on the heartache of being twelve years old and not really knowing who to turn to when things get rough. I was even able to put faces on the characters, and would love to see this story made into a movie one day. A beautiful first novel!
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
If they had awards for books, this would win the Oscar.,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Starlite Drive-In (Paperback)
This book is so intense in some parts and smoothe in the others. You follow along how this girl sees a handsome stranger comes to the drive-in and her fragile mother stand up for herself. Heck, she even gets her first bra! It also explores how it was back then. Everyone should read this book!
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