Sam: A Novel

Ive been an Allegra Goodman fan for years, but Sam is hands down my new favorite. I loved this powerful and endearing portrait of a girl who must summon deep within herself the grit and wisdom to grow up."--Lily King, New York Times bestselling author of Writers and Lovers

What happens to a girls exuberance and wonder as she becomes a woman? This unforgettable portrait of coming-of-age offers a powerful reflection on class, addiction, parenthood, longing, and ambitionfrom an author hailed as mesmerizing (People) and irresistible (The New York Times Book Review).

There is a girl, and her name is Sam. She adores her father, though he isnt around much. Her mother, Courtney, struggles to make ends meet, and never fails to remind her daughter that her life should be different. Sam 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 climb--trees, fences, walls, the side of a building. When shes climbing, she discovers a place she belongs: she can turn off her brain, pain has a purpose, and its okay if you want to win.
 
As Sam grows into her teens, she grapples with self-doubt and insecurity. She yearns for her climbing coach to notice her, but his attention crosses boundaries she doesn't know how to resist. She wishes her father would leave for good, instead of always coming and going, but once hes gone, she realizes how much shes lost. She rages against her mothers constant pressure to plan for a more secure future. Wrestling with who she wants to be in the face of what shes expected to do, Sam comes to understand that she alone can make her dreams come true.
 
Allegra Goodmans beautiful and wise novel Sam is deceptively simple: it is about a girl who becomes a woman. But underneath its straightforward chronology and spare sentences lie layers of extraordinary depth, sensitivity, and tenderness. This unforgettable ode to girlhood asks, What happens to a child's sense of joy and belonging--her belief in herself--as she grows up? The answer will break your heart, but will also leave you full of hope.