Though written well enough, _Young and Innocent_ is so anti-gay and so full of vitriol it takes a strong stomach to read it. Even given the time period in which this book first appeared, it is still harshly homophobic and its only redeeming value is to help the reader realize just how much things have improved here in 2016, despite how much farther we need still to go with gay people being treated humanely and fairly all over the world. Lawrence Block's works (under his pen name "Sheldon Lord") that deal with lesbian themes are a vast improvement and can even be somewhat compassionate at times. If you are looking for something within the pulp genre, you would be far better off with him. ( )

THERE ARE NUMEROUS SPOILERS BELOW

Oh pulps. I just can't quit them, even though they often aren't well-written and end dismally for the "real" lesbian character(s) in them.

In this book, the "real" lesbian is Lavinia, an editor for a magazine. The "really heterosexual" character is Anita, a young college graduate who has never had sex with a man. Lavinia and Anita hook up and move in together, but Anita apparently isn't satisfied. She goes to seek fulfillment with Barry, another editor at their magazine, who "proves" that Anita really isn't a lesbian by having sex with her.

And then things get pretty horrific. Barry, after pretty much kicking Anita out of his bed, decides instantly that the girl he's not been able to stand the entire book is The One For Him. So he goes to threaten Lavinia, who tries to convince Barry that she's not really a lesbian (admitting it would likely ruin her career), so...Barry rapes her. Like, literally holds her down and rapes her while Lavinia is kicking and screaming and clawing at him. And Lavinia doesn't enjoy it, so OBVIOUSLY she's a defective woman who is a real lesbian now because she didn't like being raped.

Even worse, Anita walks in on the aftermath, and she feels betrayed, but SHE ENDS UP GOING WITH BARRY ANYWAY TO MARRY HIM (even after knowing what happened, although Lavinia says it wasn't quite rape because she didn't fight him hard enough). After he tossed her out of his bed and rapes her girlfriend. W.T.F.

Yeah, this book is kind of rage-inducing.

Lavinia doesn't end up completely alone, at least, but she returns to an old girlfriend who was just using her for her connections, because anything (or anyone) is better than being alone.

Sigh.

So why did I rate this as 1 star? Well, like I said, I just can't quit these pulps, and I love the little slice of what it was like as a lesbian when these books were published. I can only imagine how nerve-wracking it was to buy one of these books at a drug store, squirreling it away, and reading it, wondering if the "real" lesbian will have a happy ending. Wondering if you ever will.

Recommended for the history, not the story itself (although I really did like the character of Lavinia). ( )