[Happy Endings Are All Alike] is Scoppettone's second work to deal with homosexuality, and it is a far more positive and assertive treatment of the subject than her first. The earlier work, Trying Hard to Hear You, dealt with a furtive, guilt-ridden, male relationship that ended in tragedy. But this work, perhaps buoyed by the women's movement and a more vocal stance on the part of homosexuals in the culture, recognizes that young adult literature must, from time to time, acknowledge homosexuality as more than a passing phase in some adolescents' development. The book depicts the struggles of two young women discovering and affirming their love for each other even when one of them is raped and the rapist uses his knowledge of their lesbian relationship as blackmail. The plot may sound sensational, but the treatment is not. And though the book has its exaggerated, oversimplified moments, as a whole it presents a balanced exploration of two highly sensitive issues.
What initially disappointed me about the work was the familiar poverty of the prose. Though she doesn't use the first person, Scoppettone nevertheless binds herself to the voice of youth. Her style is a combination of the speech patterns of adolescence and the jargon-ridden, albeit often valid insights of psychotherapy…. The prose never does more than tell the story. Once one accepts this limitation, however, one can begin to notice the book's strengths. It is well paced, it provides some insight into almost every character, and its subject matter is never exploited. As a whole the work has a sense of proportion and dignity, and Scoppettone's encouragement of tolerance is a valuable message for teenagers. (pp. 126-27)
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