Claire at Sixteen - Sebastian Sisters Author:Susan Beth Pfeffer Grade 8 Up-- "There's always a way if you need something badly enough" is 16-year-old Claire Sebastian's credo. Shrewd, brazen, and unhindered by scruples, she uses her striking beauty and sharp wits to manipulate others. In this third novel about the Sebastian sisters, the family's financial situation has deteriorated since the youngest of the ... more »four sisters, Sybil, was crippled in an auto accident two years ago. Claire uncovers the fact that her father is the illegitimate son of a prosperous businessman who also happens to be the grandfather of the boy with whom she is "in lust." She lures Scotty into an elopement, intending to extort the money for Sybil's rehabilitation from her grandfather in exchange for her agreement to an annulment. While Claire rationalizes this ruthless exploitation of others as prompted by sisterly devotion, her family maintains that she's really doing it as a test of her own powers. While some readers will find her unscrupulous behavior reprehensible, others will defend it as a resourceful and daring solution to a critical family problem. Although this is not as powerful a portrait of family dynamics under stress as Pfeffer's The Year Without Michael (Bantam, 1987), it has a fast-moving plot and an array of characters convincing in their selfishness.« less
ISBN-13: 9780553058192 ISBN-10: 0553058193 Reading Level: Young Adult Rating: