PEPPERLAND -- Mark Delaney

Peachtree Publishers -- hc
Atlanta -- ©2004 -- 184pp
ISBN: 1-56145-317-X

A young girl, trying to deal with the death of her mother, finds a letter that her mother wrote to John Lennon but never sent. The girl decides to get the letter to John Lennon herself.

This is a typical YA book, full of pathos, passion, and drama -- mostly ego centric. I don't care for this kind of book, but I understand it's place in YA literature. That in mind, this was a decent book. I enjoyed the attention the young girl had for music. The relationship she had with her friend (who may or may not be gay, it was never clear ... only that he kept insisting he wasn't)was off-beat and took away from the story, though I admit that it lended a sense of realism to the story (life doesn't wrap everything up neatly and friends are unpredictable).

I was wishing that she would be able to get the letter to John Lennon, but it seems more appropriate that she isn't able to do it.

A decent read for this sort of book. Recommended for all teen-age girls living a dramatic life.