Richard Peck's first young adult novel, Don't Look and It Won't Hurt, established him as an excellent writer of "problem novels." The book deals with teen-age pregnancy, but the family's real problem is the lack of communication and acceptance that forces each member into an isolated struggle with feelings of rejection and worthlessness. Alienation within the family recurs in several of Peck's other novels dealing with social problems: Representing Super Doll reveals the exploitation of the young in the world of beauty contests; Father Figure treats the death of a parent; Close Enough to Touch portrays the death of a girlfriend; Remembering the Good Times deals with teenage suicide. Peck's gift for comedy is evident in his Blossom Culp books: The Ghost Belonged to Me, Ghosts I Have Been, The Dreadful Future of Blossom Culp, and Blossom Culp and the Sleep of Death.

Three of Peck's...