The Unchosen

1963, 1971 Scholastic edition
Nan Gilbert
The Unchosen
Original price 60 cents, purchase price unknown
Worn paperback
B-

Ellen and her two friends try for popularity and boyfriends, although Kay seems much more interested in finding a mate for her dog.  The girls get what they're looking for, after many unsuccessful schemes.  The romances are handled in an offhand way (Ellen doesn't even get asked out by a nice guy till the last page), and the emphasis isn't on the friendship either, since the three girls are very different and don't get along that well.  An odd sort of book, from its title onward, and Ellen admits that her story doesn't run on the usual happily-ever after lines.  We're not yet at the "troubled teen" YA novels of the late '60s and beyond, but there is a sense here that the usual advice doesn't work.  As with One Small Voice, the '50s facade is starting to crack.