Everything you need to understand or teach First a Dream by Maureen Daly.
First a Dream can be read independently, but it is best understood as an extension of the story of Retta Caldwell and Dallas Dobson begun in Acts of Love. In the earlier novel, Retta and Dallas meet at Havendale High in Zenith, Pennsylvania, and experience an intense attraction for each other in spite of their opposite cultural and social backgrounds. Unfortunately for their blossoming romance, Retta's family moves across country to Thirty-nine Palms...