Chocolates for Breakfast

Book excerpt: Precocious and shocking when first published in 1956, Chocolates for Breakfast is a candid coming-of-age story of a young girl’s sudden awakening to love and desire written by 18-year-old Pamela Moore. Disaffected, sexually precocious 15-year-old Courtney Farrell splits her time between her parents’ homes in New York and Los Angeles. When a crush on a female teacher in boarding school ends badly, Courtney sets out to know everything fast—from tasting dry martinis to engaging in a passionate love affair with an older man. Considered an American response to French sensation Bonjour Tristesse, Chocolates for Breakfast is also a tale of Courtney’s close and ultimately tragic friendship with her roommate, Janet Parker, and a moving account of how teenagers approach love and sex for the first time. This edition of Chocolates for Breakfast features 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.