Through No Fault of My Own (young Coco Irvine's Diary)

Start: 04/16/2011 2:00 pm

BOOK LAUNCH EVENT

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Common Good Books presents

Through No Fault of My Own: A Girl's Diary

of the Life on Summit Avenue in the Jazz Age

AT THE SWEDENBORGIAN CHURCH

Former Star Tribune reporter, Peg Meir discusses Through No Fault of My Own: A Girl's Diary of Life on Summit Avenue in the Jazz Age, the diary of Coco Irvine (1914-1975), a lumber baron's daughter who grew up on St. Paul's prestigious Summit Avenue.

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A young teenage girl’s escapades as part of St. Paul’s social elite in the 1920s

Coco’s diary carefully records her adventures, problems, and romances, written with a lively wit and a droll sense of humor. Whether sneaking out to a dance hall in her mother’s clothes or getting in trouble for telling an off-color joke. A typical entry in the charming volume goes like this:

"I am in deep truoble through no fault of my own. I told [a] funny joke

at the dinner table and Daddy took great exception to it. I said as plaintively

as possible, "What's wrong with it?" Daddy in a most emphatic way said, "It is

not a good joke for a child your age and please don't repeat it." "But what

does it mean?" I asked, ignoring his reference to my childhood, which if

he had any brains he would see is a thing of the past..."

Here's another one...

"Daddy returned from away. This evening I heard Mother talking

about me to him in a derogatory way. He said, "Good Lord, Clover,

she's nothing but a child, why put ideas in her head!" If only he knew,

I have plenty of ideas in my head. I know plenty of interesting things and

if necessary I will run away and find out anything I don't already know about.

So there!"

"An unrepentant attention-seeker, Coco gets into frequent trouble at home and at school, but her exuberance, defiance, and sweetness will win over readers from her first entry." --Publishers Weekly

"This charming little reproduction of the year she recorded will resonate with contemporary teens and readers who remember the Irvine sisters." --St. Paul Pioneer Press