Gidget, the Little Girl with Big Ideas – Review

Here is my review of the 2001 reissue of Frederick Kohner’s classic coming-of-age novel Gidget (originally published in 1957) with a foreward from the character’s real-life inspiration, Kathy Kohner Zuckerman:

Franzie is an energetic and bright teen living in Malibu who befriends a group of male “surf bums” one summer. All of the guys go by nicknames such as Moondoggie and the Kahuna. Given her diminutive size and tomboyish spirit, the guys dub her “Gidget” (a portmanteau of “girl” and “midget”; it was the ’50s) and agree to teach her how to surf. Throughout the summer, Gidget experiences first love, teen rebellion, and the challenges of fitting in when you always defy expectations.

Gidget is a terrifically fun and breezy read. The tone is light and bouncy, but shockingly effective as a depiction of a subculture that, at its time, was very underrepresented in media. Author Frederick Kohner was inspired by his own daughter Kathy’s love for surfing and the counterculture in which she and her friends were embedded. Despite its age, modern teens will relate to Gidget’s independent sensibility balanced with her lovesick angst. Many people may already be familiar with the character via the film and TV series, but even those who don’t know her by name will recognize her as the archetypal Surfer Girl still seen in media (she was even the inspiration for Malibu Barbie!) Her personality endures for a reason, and any reader who takes a chance on this novel will wish for a best friend just like Gidget!