Books like The Bumblebee Flies Anyway

It is sometimes a challenge for me to rate YA books because it has been 40 years since I have been the target audience for them. There are many YA and J books that still enchant me no matter what age I happen to be, but not all. I often wonder if it is fair for me to judge a book that is meant for a 13-15 year old especially if I do not like it. Do I not like because it simply is not good or because I am simply way too old for it and it was never intended for my age group anyhow ?This book made me wonder what I would have felt about this when I was 13. At 58 it felt dated and the dialogue between teenagers did not seem realistic even for 1983 when it was written.So I went with a middle of the road approach and rated it 3 stars.