City Light

by Harry Mazer

George feels as if he’s going through life with his eyes half closed—but sometimes that’s how you bump into the best surprises George has been in love with Julie since they were twelve years old. For six years, they’ve barely taken a step without each other, and and every time George imagines his future, he sees Julie in it. She’ll be a doctor and they’ll stay in their small town and always be able to see the bright lights of New York City across the Hudson River. The two of them are so close, they’re like two parts of the same person—only whole when they’re together.   But when Julie suddenly calls off their relationship, everything George thought was certain starts to crumble away. In desperation, he starts exchanging online messages with a stranger, someone right across the river in the big city. On the Internet, George discovers, you can be anyone you want—or you can be exactly who you are, even if you’re still finding out just who that is.

Genres: Fiction, Young Adult, Romance

186 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 1988

About the author

Harry Mazer is an American author of books for children and young adults, acclaimed for his 'realistic' novels. He has written twenty-two novels, including The Solid Gold Kid, The Island Keeper, Heroes Don't Run, and Snow Bound, which was adapted as an NBC After school special, as well as one work of poetry and a few short stories.

Reviews

[Bethina Partida · Rating 5 out of 5]

I gave this book such a good rating because I really truly enjoyed it. It's one of the first books I ever read as a child. It is a short book, but the length doesn't not take away from the great plot.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE THIS BOOK!!!

[Rachael]

This book was better than I remembered. It made me think about freedom & creating my own life, away from

[Ash · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is the only book so far that I have given a five star (I rarely give anything a five). I have read this twice, and it is just as enjoyable this time as it was the first time. I love the writing, I love the dialogues, and absolutely love the story. The only difference is that, back then (I was 14), I was kind of rooting for Julie and felt so heartbroken for George and didn't really understand why Julie did what she did. This time around, though, I fully understood where Julie was coming from, and I actually wanted George to quickly meet Rosemary.
Will definitely pick it up again in the future, and I highly recommend this for a light reading.

[elissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A break-up book, from a boy's POV. This was one of the first books that I read as a new YA librarian, and perfect for me at the time since I had recently been through a bad break-up myself. I don't think it's still in print, and it seems like there might have been some stuff in the story about computers that would be dated now, but it would still be worth reading.