by Kate Schatz
First published 2026
Elizabeth "Baker" has her life mapped out perfectly. The seventeen-year-old valedictorian will head to Stanford in the fall to pursue her dream of becoming a journalist. Then she meets Wiley, a free-spirited hippie who introduces her to the intoxicating counterculture of 1968 San Francisco. For the first time, Baker lets herself fall in love and abandon her careful plans. When she discovers she's pregnant, everything crumbles. Her family's pride becomes their shame. Stanford disappears. Her parents ship her off to a Victorian home for unwed mothers, where she joins other girls society has cast aside. Stripped of her future and her choices, Baker must navigate her changing body and uncertain path. Among these forgotten young women, she discovers an unexpected sisterhood. As the sexual revolution rages outside and feminist voices grow louder, Baker learns to find her own strength and voice in a world determined to silence her.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, feminism, coming-of-age, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, pregnancy-plot, second-chance
Setting: San Francisco, Stanford
Period: 1968
368 pages · Hardcover · The Dial Press
Content warnings: sexual-content