Starring Peter and Leigh

by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Sixteen-year-old Leigh Thorpe, an up-and-coming TV actress, wants to be a typical American teenager and receives help from her new stepbrother, but the lure of stardom confronts her with an important decision.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Novels, Contemporary

200 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

Susan Beth Pfeffer was an American author best known for young adult and science fiction. After writing for 35 years, she received wider notice for her series of post-apocalyptic novels, officially titled "The Life as We Knew It Series", but often called "The Last Survivors" or "Moon Crash" series, some of which appeared on The New York Times Best Seller list.

Reviews

[Susann · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the 1970s YA continuum, Pfeffer falls somewhere between Ellen Conford and Norma Klein. Not as funny as Conford and not as edgy as Klein. Just good, realistic storytelling. Leigh's experiences as a former child TV star are believable and I love the Brady Bunch parallels. Her hemophiliac stepbrother is pretty hot stuff, too! If only Pfeffer had written a book from his point of view.
First read in 1984(?), and I just bought a nice hardcover copy at the Strand (for my sister, who used to own the pb version).

[CLM · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this book about a girl who starred in a Brady Bunch-like tv series, and is now trying to play the part of normal teen in her mother's new family on Long Island.

[PinkAmy loves books, cats and naps · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m revisiting some childhood favorites.

Think historical fiction with all the misogyny and dated stereotypes.

Peter is a horrible. He’d have been just as horrible in the 1970s. I didn’t remember the story. If I did, I wouldn’t have reread.

[Sharon Buxton · Rating 3 out of 5]

C. fiction, YA, contemporary fiction, from stash, discard

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hadn't read this since I was about 15 and wanted to see if I still enjoyed it. I did. Some of the references are dated but the story holds up.

[Elsa DeGelder · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's something potentially discouraging about revisiting a book that you loved as a teenager. Because there's a real possibility that it won't measure up to the high expectations you held out for it.
I remember taking "Starring Peter and Leigh" out from the library several times, even though I wasn't (at the time) even sure how to pronounce the name Leigh; did it rhyme with "weigh"?
Reading this afresh all these years later, it still holds that same vivid draw for me; I plunged into the story headlong, and cared enough about the characters to need to know how they turned out.
It's a happy book; I think that's part of the allure of it. People are generous and kind, and it's a good place to visit.
The ending is admittedly abrupt, even more so when you're reading it on an e-reader and you don't have the thinning of the amount of pages in your left hand to clue you in that the end is nigh. And yet, despite the abruptness of the ending, it is a perfect ending; unresolved in some ways, but still full of hope and promise.
A solid five stars for me.
And it's cheering to know that I could recognize quality writing from such a tender age...

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an old favorite that I've reread many times. I suspect it's been out of print a long time, which is too bad. Leigh is a 16-year-old television actress who is retiring from her childhood-acting career to live with her mother, new stepfather and new invalid stepbrother and try to be a normal teenager. Not that I know, but I think the depiction of Leigh's career and character are probably incredibly accurate -- she's sophisticated from being around adults most of her life; she desperately wants to be normal and fit in without quite knowing how; she has a healthy, but not annoying, self-esteem; and she's confused about what she actually wants, having to deal with competing interests.

[Tamara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I saved this book from when I was a kid, and my 12 year old daughter just finished it. I remember liking it a lot, which is why I saved it. My daughter liked the author's concept of reality was good, but she was disappointed with the ending. She would have preferred an epilogue... which I think means that she was connected enough with the characters to care what happened to them.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Saw this posted on a friend's goodreads and I had to have it!

An enjoyable story marred by a rushed and confusing ending.