[In Long Time Between Kisses] Billie James must make some major changes in her life—or go [crazy]…. So—Billie cuts off her hair in a sort of butchered crew-cut, and dyes it purple to "express her self." It's been a long time between kisses for Billie, until Captain Natoli—old, senile, living on dog food, and ignored by family and friends, and Mitch, young, handsome, and suffering from MS, and running away from family and friends come into her life. To both she gives a helping hand and to Mitch she gives her heart. Wit and humor, and finely drawn characters … work together to flesh out this bittersweet identity crisis and first love. Inconsistencies in tense are disturbing, but otherwise a good read….

Jorja Davis, in her review of "Long Time between Kisses," in Voice of Youth Advocates (copyrighted 1982 by Voice of Youth Advocates), Vol. 5, No. 3, August...