Norma Fox Mazer's Silver is an interesting testament to a different era of young adult literature. This slim volume, and the voice of the main character, might seem very young when compared to the YA literature of today. However, this would be deceptive: Silver deals with some challenging subject matter (sexual abuse) as well as class issues with surprising maturity.

Sarabeth Silver is the teenage daughter of a working class woman. Her home life--the trailer she lives in, the way her mother scrimps and saves, her mother's friends and boyfriend--are very realistically described. After a move across her trailer park, Silver is enrolled in a new, wealthier high school. There, she makes friends with a group of sometimes-interchangeable girls who are richer, yet more troubled than she is. It is in the scenes with her new friends that Silver's voice, silly and sensitive, really shines through. Though she seems a bit younger in tone than many YA protagonists in books with more serious subject matter, it also felt more true to life.

Silver's discovery that one of her friends is being molested by a relative, and her romance with a boy from another school, feel a bit tacked-on, unfortunately, and the novel concludes without any real satisfaction or feeling of resolution. This isn't exactly gripping reading in terms of plot, but it's a strong character piece nevertheless.