Don't Look and It Won't Hurt

Don't Look and It Won't Hurt by Peck, Richard. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780805063165.

"Out at the city limits theres this sign that says WELCOME TO CLAYPITTS, PEARL OF THE PRAIRIE, and if youd believe that, youd believe anything." Sixteen-year-old Carol Patterson is a girl in the middle: in the middle of her sisters, in the middle of her adolescence, in the middle of her familys problems. It is the early seventies and the world is in turmoil, but hardly anything from the outside ever seems to creep in to effect the Pattersons, who live in half a house at the wrong end of town. But there is turmoil enough in Carols own life. The family is barely getting by on her mothers waitress salary. Carols bookishness and shabby clothes make her an outcast. Then Carols older sister gets pregnant. Still, in the midst of it all there is hope: Carols first fledgling romance; her unexpected friendship with the preachers daughter. And suddenly a door opens, providing Carol with a glimpse of the world outside Claypitts and a glimpse of her own inner strength. Originally published in 1972, Dont Look and It Wont Hurt was Richard Pecks first novel. It was adapted for the movie Gas/Food/Lodging in 1992.