Hailed as “the greatest love story of our time,” (according to the back cover) Gone With the Wind is an intimidating, 1024-paged book dealing with the mishaps and misadventures of Scarlett O’Hara in Civil-War era Georgia.             

Scarlett is spunky, cool, and calculating.  She is the belle of three counties with uncountable beaux (get used to that word; it comes about once a chapter at least) and the envy of every girl in the state.  She is used to getting what she wants, so it comes as a huge surprise to her when her object of infatuation, Ashley Wilkes, becomes engaged to another girl.           

The mindless lusts of a teenager provoke the internal conflict that Scarlett faces throughout all 1024 pages of the book.  Her obsession can get tiring at times, especially with the entrance of the dashing Rhett Butler (I dare you to show me a girl who is not hopelessly in love with him by the end of the book).             

Mitchell’s story is a wonderfully painted picture of Civil War era Georgia, with its aristocracy, sprawling plantations, fierce kinships, and personalities of the time.  I thoroughly enjoyed her description of the tough old ladies whose devotion to the Confederate cause never dies.  The book is both absorbing and instructive—I consider myself an expert on a Southerner’s view of the Reconstruction now.           

I don’t know if boys will like Gone With the Wind as much as girls will…but I encourage all young adults to read it!!           

Besides, Twilight fans will need something to keep their minds off the upcoming movie (and no, I am not going to see it).