There is a girl, and her name is Sam. She adores her father, though he isnt 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 easiermore secure and comfortable. But comfort and security are of little interest to Sam. She doesnt fit in at school, where the other girls have the right shade of blue jeans and dont question the rules. Sam doesnt care about jeans or rules. She just loves to climbtrees, 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 its more complicated than she anticipated. She resents her fathers erratic behavior, but she grieves once hes gone. And she resists her mothers attempts to plan for her future, even as that future draws closer.
Allegra Goodmans 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.
