Lulu Goes to College

by Barbara McGillicuddy Bolton

In the fall of 1961 -- before the '60's became The Sixties -- 18-year-old Lulu Delaney of Meduxnekeag, Maine, packs up her two baby blue plastic suitcases and takes the bus south to Lovejoy, the private coeducational Maine college to which she's won a scholarship. Eager to read and discuss the great books and to have her first real boyfriend, she's also wary of losing her Catholic faith.

In 2015, graduates of the Class of 1965 celebrate their 50th reunions. Much of their college life -- "in loco parentis," curfews, panty raids, and formal Sunday dinners -- is no more. Nor do New Criticism and Great Thinkers of the Western World still anchor the curriculum. For older readers, "Lulu Goes to College" is a mirror to times past and, for younger readers, a window.

232 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 12, 2015

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a lovely book, a portrait of a small college in Maine a half-century ago, just before many changes came to American society. But there are also aspects of Lulu's experience that felt true over a longer time period, for instance in regard to being away from home for the first time, and being at an age when self-confidence and self-doubt ebb and flow more freely than later in life.

Full disclosure, the author is a friend from my book group. It was wonderful to discuss the book and her writing process with her!