First published 1997
Zoe feels trapped by her conventional family's expectations and rigid values. Everything changes when she meets Margo and her father, who introduce her to a world of sexual awakening and personal freedom that stands in sharp contrast to her sheltered upbringing. After the father's death, Zoe makes a decisive break from her family's traditional way of life. She chooses instead to wander from place to place, rejecting the security and conformity that once defined her existence. Yet her new nomadic life brings its own sorrows and losses. As misfortune follows her from town to town, Zoe finds herself driven to increasingly desperate measures. Her journey becomes a struggle between the freedom she craves and the pain that seems to shadow her every move, leading her toward one last desperate gamble.
Genres: fiction, 20th-century, coming-of-age, contemporary, 21st-century, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: coming-of-age, fish-out-of-water
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
416 pages · Paperback · Abacus
Content warnings: sexual-content