Gidget - by Frederick Kohner (Paperback)

About the Book

The classic novel of 1950's American youth is now back in print with rare photos and a new Foreword by the "real" Gidget, Kathy Kolner Zuckerman.

Book Synopsis

A surfing, boy-crazy teenager comes of age in the summer of 1957 in this classic novel that inspired both movies and television and created an American pop culture icon.

"My English comp teacher Mr. Glicksberg says if you want to be a writer you have to--quote--sit on a window sill and get all pensive and stuff and jot down descriptions. Unquote Glicksberg! I don't know what kind of things he writes but I found my inspiration in Malibu with a radio, my best girlfriends, and absolutely zillions of boys for miles. I absolutely had to write everything down because I heard that when you get older you forget things, and I'd be the most miserable woman in the world if I forgot all about Moondoggie and what happened this summer. I absolutely owe the world my story. (And every word is true. I swear.)"

This is Franzie, part Holden Caulfield, part Lolita. The guys call her Gidget--short for girl midget. Based on the experiences of his own daughter, Frederick Kohner's trend-setting novel became an international sensation with an irrepressible heroine whose voice still echoes every thrill, every fear, and every hope that every teenager ever had about growing up.

Includes a Foreword by Kathy Kohner Zuckerman (aka the real Gidget)

Review Quotes

"[A] wonderfully fresh...amusing, tough, and tender novel."--San Francisco Chronicle

"Touching and entertaining."--The New York Times

"Gidget makes one think of Catcher in the Rye."--Hartford Courant

"Shocking but wonderfully entertaining."--The Pittsburgh Press

"Gidget is delightful."--San Francisco Call-Bulletin

"An amusing, revealing and...touching picture of the uncertainty of adolescence."--Manchester Evening News

"Mid-summer madness about beach bums, surf boards, malibu and a fifteen-year old american answer to Francoise Sagan."--Los Angeles Times

About the Author

Frederick Kohner (1905-1986) was the author of the Gidget novels, which inspired a series of movies, two television series, three telemovies and a feature-length animated film. He based the title character on his own daughter, Kathy Kohner Zuckerman.