First published 1992
Ellen Burns grows up in South Carolina refusing to fit the mold expected of her. While other girls dream of being Southern belles like Scarlett O'Hara, Ellen would rather swing through trees as Tarzan than wait to be rescued as Jane. Her rebellious streak continues into her teens, where she wins beauty contests while secretly adding spirits of ammonia to her Coca-Cola and shocking adults with her support for civil rights. Ellen's unconventional path leads her to Harvard through hypnosis, where she discovers her identity as a lesbian. But her journey toward self-discovery takes dangerous turns as she battles alcoholism and gets involved with spiritual guides who nearly derail her completely. Set against the changing landscape of the 1960s and 70s, Ellen's story captures a young woman's fierce determination to define herself on her own terms, even when those choices threaten to destroy her.
Genres: american-fiction, 20th-century, coming-of-age, contemporary, 21st-century, activism
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: coming-of-age, found-family, unconventional-protagonist
Setting: Harvard, South Carolina
Period: 1960s, 1970s
220 pages · Paperback · Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Content warnings: addiction, alcohol-abuse, mental-illness