There is a girl, and her name is Sam. She adores her father, though he isn’t around much. Her mother struggles to make ends meet, and never fails to remind her daughter that if she studies hard and acts responsibly, adulthood will be easier—more secure and comfortable. But comfort and security are of little interest to Sam. She doesn’t fit in at school, where the other girls have the right shade of blue jeans and don’t question the rules. Sam doesn’t care about jeans or rules. She just loves to climb—trees, fences, walls, the side of a building.
As a teenager, Sam begins to doubt herself. She yearns for her climbing coach to notice her, but when he does itÂ’s more complicated than she anticipated. She resents her fatherÂ’s erratic behavior, but she grieves once heÂ’s gone. And she resists her motherÂ’s attempts to plan for her future, even as that future draws closer.
Allegra GoodmanÂ’s beautiful and wise new novel is deceptively simple: it is about a girl who grows up. But underneath its straightforward chronology and spare sentences lie layers of extraordinary depth, sensitivity, and tenderness.
