Surf's up The classic novel of 1950's American youth-now back in print with rare photos and a new foreword by the "real" Gidget.
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Dec 17, 2009
Dayna
rated it: 
I enjoyed this book. I read it because I like the movie by the same name ... the old one with Sandra Dee. It is not by any means a great work of literature ... it is a fun and easy read though.
It is actually based on the real-life experiences of the author's daughter. She was a real surfer-girl in a time when surfing was still a sport (or more like a hobby) of male beach bums. While being based on a real person it's a fictionalized account ... but it is believable without being phil More...
It is actually based on the real-life experiences of the author's daughter. She was a real surfer-girl in a time when surfing was still a sport (or more like a hobby) of male beach bums. While being based on a real person it's a fictionalized account ... but it is believable without being phil More...
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Jan 31, 2011
Jodi
rated it: 
When I was a kid my sister and I used to watch the TV show “Gidget” every day after school. It was sandwiched between something like “The Flintstones” and “Bewitched” on TBS or one of those cable channels that shows two-decade old reruns.
Being Minnesota teens of the 80s I can only surmise that our adoration of the show was all due to the perky charm of Sally Field. We really loved the show and when my sister got Gidget – The Complete Series on DVD for Christmas, we dove in with gusto More...
Being Minnesota teens of the 80s I can only surmise that our adoration of the show was all due to the perky charm of Sally Field. We really loved the show and when my sister got Gidget – The Complete Series on DVD for Christmas, we dove in with gusto More...
Jul 03, 2011
Wordwizard
rated it:
Good, fluffy, fun. A good sit-on-the-deck-in-the-sun read. I want to learn to surf now.
I kind of wish I had read this when I was fifteen. I would have found it fun, engaging, and not a little scandalous. Probably would have quite surprised me that my mom likes it so much. Gidget is impulsive and confident and independent, which is awesome, especially as she's based off a real person. However, she can be shockingly oblivious of the surfer guys' innuendos while at the same time being muc More...
I kind of wish I had read this when I was fifteen. I would have found it fun, engaging, and not a little scandalous. Probably would have quite surprised me that my mom likes it so much. Gidget is impulsive and confident and independent, which is awesome, especially as she's based off a real person. However, she can be shockingly oblivious of the surfer guys' innuendos while at the same time being muc More...
Jul 10, 2011
Miriam
rated it: 
From a linguistic point of view this book was very interesting; it was fun to try to figure out what she was saying in some places. Kohner does a good job of capturing the slang of the time. I also felt that the surfing scenes were very well done and conveyed why people become some obsessed. As others have mentioned it definitely is racier than the movies and TV show, and I guess that it was bothered me about it. By modern standards it still isn't that bad, but I found the fact that a father wro
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Dec 18, 2009
Andrea
rated it: 
The Little Bookworm
Franzie is a typical 16 year old girl. When she is one day rescued by a handsome surfer, Moondoggie, she decides she wants to learn how to surf. Made one of the gang by the local surfer boys who nickname her Gidget (girl-midget), she falls in love with Moondoggie and, most of all, with surfing.
Written in 1957, Gidget was written by Frederick Kohner for his daughter, Kathy. Based on her adventures with surfing, Gidget was the first book to deal with a More...
Franzie is a typical 16 year old girl. When she is one day rescued by a handsome surfer, Moondoggie, she decides she wants to learn how to surf. Made one of the gang by the local surfer boys who nickname her Gidget (girl-midget), she falls in love with Moondoggie and, most of all, with surfing.
Written in 1957, Gidget was written by Frederick Kohner for his daughter, Kathy. Based on her adventures with surfing, Gidget was the first book to deal with a More...
Aug 03, 2009
Kristin
rated it:
Bitchen book. I picked this up at a surf shop, it's the story of the real Gidget. Her father, a screenwriter, turned her diary into this novel in 1957. (My copy is autographed by Gidget herself who is now close to 70.) Gidget, meaning girl midget, discovered Moondoggie and The Big Kahuna and other surf bums in Malibu and spent the next three summers hanging out with them and learned to surf board ride. The tv shows came after and cleaned up Gidget quite a bit. Some say this book is what started
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Jun 01, 2010
Lorna
rated it:
I had an original paperback of this with Sandra Dee on the cover. At some point I either lost it or loaned it. So I replaced it with the later version with Deborah Walley. We met Kathy Kohner Zuckerman a couple of weeks at a car show and bought the new version. It has lots of photos of Kathy and is still a fun red. Larry was a surfer of that era, and many of the stories could have been about his own experiences. It's definitely a period piece and has a niche audience. But for those old timers in
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Jul 05, 2011
Jamie
rated it:
I don't think it would be out of line to describe this as a west-coast girl version of Catcher in the Rye. Watching a Sandra Dee film and a Sally Field TV show would lead you to think that this book is pure bubblegum at it's core, but it's not.
I was skeptic at first, but only looking for a light easy read, so Gidget fit the bill. She surprised me by being both observant and charming.
This is one I'm adding to my collection.
I was skeptic at first, but only looking for a light easy read, so Gidget fit the bill. She surprised me by being both observant and charming.
This is one I'm adding to my collection.
Jul 24, 2010
Lynne
rated it:
Great, quick summer read. Yes, there is a real Gidget, whose father tells her story after she allowed him access to the journal she wrote about her adventures at Malibu beach during the summer of 1957. Her voice comes through loud and clear and, though the book is more than 50 years old, the experiences and feelings of fifteen year old 'Franzie' are just as relevant today.
Jan 01, 2012
Katie
rated it:
Alright so I own the Gidget movies, therefor I am also a fan of the book which turned out to be very different from the movie. I love both though. Something about fun in the sun & a teenagers view of life turns this book into a good read.
Apr 17, 2011
Xxenvyxx
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This book is so wholesome and fun to read. I picked it up and was done in a few short hours. I recommend it as a mental palate cleanser. :)
Jan 24, 2011
Michelle
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Gidget is a pretty cute teen from 1957, and Kohner spins a pretty hip, lighthearted tale about surfing, boys, summer and coming of age.
Aug 15, 2009
Anita
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I'll be stewed, brewed, and tattooed. This one took me back to reading Nancy Drew and Donna Parker; not to mention watching Moondoggie and Gidget Watusi on the beach.
Jul 12, 2009
Aimée
rated it:
I first read this when I was 10. A bit more mature than the movies and a delightful story.
Jul 25, 2011
Lisa
rated it:
Almost a little Holden Caulfield-esque...very 1950s independent, sarcastic, and cynical.
Feb 18, 2008
Princess
rated it:
So I just finished reading this book and it is actually really cute. I had seen a couple of the Gidget movies and actually had a "beach party" in my college apartment loosely associated with Gidget.
It was a quick read and kind of fluffy. But it is an insight into the culture of surfing when it was still a relatively small community. Gidget is a force to be reckoned with: a girl who wants to surf no matter what and a girl who falls in love and is dealing with emotions that only a More...
It was a quick read and kind of fluffy. But it is an insight into the culture of surfing when it was still a relatively small community. Gidget is a force to be reckoned with: a girl who wants to surf no matter what and a girl who falls in love and is dealing with emotions that only a More...
Oct 28, 2008
Judy
rated it:
Quick read. The bitchen surf scene was still going strong in the summer of 1965 when this KS girl first saw the ocean and loved the surf, beach parties, dancing and falling in love Gidget style. Although I was much older than Gidget in the book, 15, (in real life we're about the same age) the atmosphere was very much like the book for me. The author got it right. It brought back clear memories of the young kids I spent that summer with...some into the lingo of the book more than others.
Sep 25, 2008
Lee Anne
rated it:
This isn't the light and fluffy notion that you have when you hear "Gidget"--it's really a rougher coming of age story. I won't go as far as to liken her to Holden Caulfield, as the cover blurb does, but this is a deeper book than you'd think. It's an interesting slice of life from the early, early years of California surf culture, and the guys are just slightly scary enough to keep this from being teen fluff.
Nov 17, 2011
Jim
rated it:
Kind of a disappointment that the book wasn't written by Gidget herself, but her father does a decent job with the material. More risque than I'd imagined.
Nov 23, 2007
Irene
rated it:
Who knew that Gidget was a real person and not just the TV show character? This book is fantastic, readable in a day, and I loved everything about it. Except for it being written by her dad, who listened in on her phone conversations to get material-- just a little creepy. It's easy to forget that though and just love the story.
Sep 02, 2008
I LOVE this book. It is so much better than the stupid movie. Such a good read. As far as literature, it is on par with the Catcher in the Rye...except without the angst and superiority complex of the author.
May 08, 2010
Heather
rated it:
If you have seen the original Gidget movies etc, you'll enjoy this. It's a fun, short, lightning-fast read. Times have really changed since the early 1960's, eh?
Mar 15, 2007
Rebecca
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OK, so first of all, I LOVE the Gidget TV series with Sally Field, so I basically read this as a fan interested in the source. It was great fun!
Dec 30, 2009
Elizabeth
rated it:
Simple and sweet. Captures a specific moment in time perfectly and with lots of great beach lingo that we should all adopt!
Feb 03, 2012
