Editorial Review

“Ellen Levine has captured the lives of an ordinary family living in the Bronx in the 1950s whose everyday existence is suddenly upended by two events: the father standing up for his beliefs and Jamie, the daughter, facing the consequences of a shocking trauma. Levine vividly portrays Jamie’s struggle to understand what has happened to herself, her family, and her best friend Elaine at a time when the country was scared of the ‘Commie’ threat and teenagers faced few options when they got ‘in trouble.’ This story is a prescient reminder of how fragile legal rights may be—whether asserting our political opinions or choosing how to control our bodies—when societal winds suddenly change course. But it is also a beautifully wrought coming of age tale that speaks to every generation.” —Jane M. Spinak, Esq., Edward Ross Aranow Clinical Professor of Law Director, Child Advocacy Clinic, Columbia University Law School