From the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize finalist, whose short stories received instant acclaim (Sparingly told, evoked with lacerating intimacy . . . ExtraordinaryEsquire), a debut novel about a young womans coming of age, and the singular friendship that challenges her values, her beliefs, and the course of her life
At sixteen, Eva meets Jamie by chance. She lives in middle-class south Brooklyn; he comes from the super rich of upper Manhattan. Shes observant, cautious, often insecure; hes curious, bold, full of mysteries. These two questers are drawn together in a strange and profound friendship, tested by forces larger than themselves. As Eva follows a path of conventional achievementa prestigious degree, a classic romance, the start of an ambitious careerJamie seeks out more radical experiments in finding himself: renouncing his family, joining a political movement, and eventually even talking to...