Seventeen years old

Author: Tarkington
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-04-01
Features: Covered Bridge Book Series, a series of books dedicated to reflecting the current state, development, and achievements of modern and contemporary foreign literature. Its characteristics are:
1. Selecting award-winning works that represent mainstream Western literature, such as: The Kelly Gang (winner of the 2001 UK's biggest literary award, the Booker Prize) and The Old Man and the Sea (winner of the 1939 US's biggest literary award, the Pulitzer Prize).
2. Modern and contemporary foreign bestsellers that have been and continue to be popular with readers worldwide, with outstanding achievements on international bestseller lists, such as The Bridges of Madison County.
3. Newly published influential works from the past one or two years, such as: The House on Mango Street (a nominee for the 2001 US National Book Award) and Middle Age (the latest work by the renowned American author, Toni Morrison, known as the "big sister" of the American literary world).
All these books share a common feature: strong readability. For this reason, the series showcases bestsellers and is sure to be widely loved by readers.
Booth Tarkington's Penrod vividly depicts the life of a mischievous young boy, showcasing the author's keen insight into life's details. William in Seventeen can be seen as an older version of Penrod. The book includes a summary of "seventeen" that reads: "At the age of seventeen or eighteen, puberty may be complete, but not due to the maturity of experience. These ages have their own tragedies. The period of one's life cannot tolerate any imperfections in appearance: status, wealth, family, as well as grace, elegance, and dignity in public. However, the young person is often betrayed by the child within him who still occasionally emerges, and tactless people also always treat him as a child." The author captures this unique character conflict of adolescence, weaving a series of humorous stories. The book reflects the life scenes of a small town in the central-western United States in the early 20th century. Compared to modern society, life was slower, social relationships simpler, and the behaviors of the seventeen-year-old protagonist might seem more typical of a fourteen or fifteen-year-old in today's world. Although the era is different, the adolescent characteristics depicted in the book still evoke a knowing smile from readers.