Rainy Lake by Mary Francois Rockcastle is the story of a young girl and the time she spent growing up at her parents' lake home during the summer throughout the 60's.
I found this novel to be very relatable despite not growing up in that era, not losing a brother, and not really going through any of the same situations that the main character, Danielle did growing up. I really liked the idea that the novel was formed around just the summers and it didn't follow Danielle into the school year.
This novel really portrayed the Vietnam era well through the eyes of a white middle class teenage girl and at the same time it challenged readers to change their perspectives and look at things through another's mindset, just as Danielle tried to do with her first love, Billy.
I think this would probably be a great read for junior or senior level high school English class, as it does cover some heavy subjects. I truly enjoyed it though!
I felt the same way as you, there were a lot of elements that should prevent me from relating to this character, but I think Rockcastles ability to capture all the emotions of being a teen was palpable. This made it relate-able to all readers, because everyone goes through this crazy hormonal phase in some way or another as a teen.
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