Fiction. Literature. HTML:READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK AS FEATURED ON TODAY â?˘ â??Iâ??ve 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.â?ťâ??Lily King, New York Times bestselling author of Writers & Lovers
NEW YORK TIMES EDITORSâ?? CHOICE â?˘ What happens to a girlâ??s sense of joy and belongingâ??to her belief in herselfâ??as she becomes a woman? This unforgettable portrait of coming-of-age offers subtle yet powerful reflections on class, parenthood, addiction, lust, and the irrepressible power of dreams.
 
â??There is a girl, and her name is Sam.â?ť So begins Allegra Goodmanâ??s moving and wise new novel.
Sam is seven years old and living in Beverly, Massachusetts. She adores her father, though he isnâ??t around much. Her mother struggles to make ends meet, and never fails to remind Sam that if she studies hard and acts responsibly, adulthood will be easierâ??more secure and comfortable. But comfort and security are of little interest to Sam. She doesnâ??t fit in at school, where the other girls have the right shade of blue jeans and donâ??t question the rules. She doesnâ??t care about jeans or rules. All she wants to climb. Hanging from the highest limbs of the tallest trees, scaling the side of a building, Sam feels free.
As a teenager, Sam begins to doubt herself. She yearns to be noticed, even as she wants to disappear. When her climbing coach takes an interest in her, his attention is more complicated than she anticipated. She resents her fatherâ??s erratic behavior, but she grieves after heâ??s gone. And she resists her motherâ??s attempts to plan for her future, even as that future draws closer.
The simplicity of this tender, emotionally honest novel is what makes it so powerful. Sam by Allegra Goodm