{"title":"Pamela Erens","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"virgins-book-pamela-erens-9781848549876","title":"The Virgins","description":"'Erens brilliantly captures the dark side of adolescence . . . On a par with the likes of Jeffrey Eugenides' The Virgin Suicides' Independent  'Flawlessly executed and irrefutably true' John Irving  'A must for fans of Nabokovian tragedy' Irish Tatler  The events of 1979-80 reverberate around the campus of Auburn Academy and linger many years later in the mind of narrator Bruce Bennett-Jones. Aviva Rossner and Seung Jung are an unlikely couple at the elite East Coast boarding school and are not shy in flaunting their newly discovered sexuality. Their blossoming relationship is watched with envy and fascination by Bruce and other classmates, who believe their liaison to be one of pure, unadulterated passion and pleasure.  But nothing is what it seems, and as Aviva and Seung struggle to understand themselves and each other, things begin to fall apart. Their ultimate descent into shame and betrayal has disastrous consequences beyond their own lives.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49528056054033,"sku":"GOR005621510","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49654004678929,"sku":"GOR005441322","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1848549873.jpg?v=1750768568"},{"product_id":"eleven-hours-book-pamela-erens-9781782399797","title":"Eleven Hours","description":"Eleven Hours is a visceral, vital, microcosmic illumination of the most pivotal moment of any woman's life: giving birth. With taut, sensitive prose, Erens explores the lives of two women in New York - one in labour, the other her Haitian midwife - to gracefully reveal the seminal moments that have led them to meet here, now, during childbirth.   With this riveting, insightful and sometimes harrowing novel, Erens cements herself as one of modern fiction's most diverse and discerning authors.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49533550887185,"sku":"GOR007608359","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49647677473041,"sku":"GOR008244883","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1782399798.jpg?v=1751248166"},{"product_id":"eleven-hours-book-pamela-erens-9781782399810","title":"Eleven Hours","description":"'An immensely powerful, cannot-look-away novel of heart and bone and muscle and blood. The war novel has a rival... and it is breath-taking.' The Herald    Lore arrives at the hospital alone: no husband, no partner, no friends. She is in labour. Franckline, a nurse in the maternity ward, herself newly pregnant, is assigned to her care. Over the spiralling course of eleven hours, the women are thrown together into a fierce, physical intimacy, and they begin to force one another to reckon with their pasts and their futures. Lore must disentangle herself from a love triangle; Franckline must move beyond deep traumas; both must prepare themselves for the fear, joy, anguish and awe of motherhood.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49544163295505,"sku":"GOR011302045","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49635009462545,"sku":"GOR008147016","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50933246296337,"sku":"GOR014130613","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/178239981X.jpg?v=1759231570"},{"product_id":"virgins-book-pamela-erens-9781848549883","title":"The Virgins","description":"'Erens brilliantly captures the dark side of adolescence ...On a par with the likes of Jeffrey Eugenides' The Virgin Suicides' Independent 'Flawlessly executed and irrefutably true' John Irving 'A must for fans of Nabokovian tragedy' Irish Tatler The events of 1979-80 reverberate around the campus of Auburn Academy and linger many years later in the mind of narrator Bruce Bennett-Jones. Aviva Rossner and Seung Jung are an unlikely couple at the elite East Coast boarding school and are not shy in flaunting their newly discovered sexuality. Their blossoming relationship is watched with envy and fascination by Bruce and other classmates, who believe their liaison to be one of pure, unadulterated passion and pleasure. But nothing is what it seems, and as Aviva and Seung struggle to understand themselves and each other, things begin to fall apart. Their ultimate descent into shame and betrayal has disastrous consequences beyond their own lives.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49545535095057,"sku":"GOR006050354","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1848549881.jpg?v=1751091598"},{"product_id":"virgins-book-pamela-erens-9781935639626","title":"The Virgins","description":"\u003cb\u003eThe Virgins is the story of Aviva Rossner and Seung Jung's erotic awakening at Auburn Academy re-imagined in richly detailed episodes by their classmate Bruce, a once-embittered voyeur, now repentant narrator, whose envy spurs the novel's tragic end.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e* A New York Times Editor's Choice selection\u003cbr\u003e * A Chicago Tribune Editor's Choice selection\u003cbr\u003e * A Best Book of 2013, The New Yorker\u003cbr\u003e * A Best Book of 2013, The New Republic\u003cbr\u003e * A Critics' Choice selection for 2013, Salon\u003cbr\u003e * A Best Indie Title of 2013, Library Journal\u003cbr\u003e * One of Redbook's \"Top Ten Beach Reads of 2013\"\u003cbr\u003e * One of O Magazine's \"Ten Titles to Pick Up Now,\" August 2013\u003cbr\u003e * Featured in The Millions's \"Most-Anticipated\" List 2013\u003cbr\u003e * A \"This Week's Hot Reads\" selection, The Daily Beast\u003cbr\u003e * A Vanity Fair Hot Type selection\u003cbr\u003e * The Virgins was a finalist for the John Gardner Award\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e * Publishers Weekly named The Virgins one of the best boarding school books of all time\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIt's 1979, and Aviva Rossner and Seung Jung are notorious at Auburn Academy. They're an unlikely pair at an elite East Coast boarding school (she's Jewish; he's Korean American) and hardly shy when it comes to their sexuality. Aviva is a formerly bookish girl looking for liberation from an unhappy childhood; Seung is an enthusiastic dabbler in drugs and a covert rebel against his demanding immigrant parents. In the minds of their titillated classmates--particularly that of Bruce Bennett-Jones--the couple lives in a realm of pure, indulgent pleasure. But, as is often the case, their fabled relationship is more complicated than it seems: despite their lust and urgency, their virginity remains intact, and as they struggle to understand each other, the relationship spirals into disaster.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e The Virgins is the story of Aviva and Seung's descent into confusion and shame, as re-imagined in richly detailed episodes by their classmate Bruce, a once-embittered voyeur turned repentant narrator. With unflinching honesty and breathtaking prose, Pamela Erens brings a fresh voice to the tradition of the great boarding school novel.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49551243444497,"sku":"GOR008031930","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49622952870161,"sku":"GOR006504387","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49778862194961,"sku":"CIN1935639625G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51689788244241,"sku":"NIN9781935639626","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51819675877649,"sku":"CIN1935639625VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1935639625.jpg?v=1765447792"},{"product_id":"middlemarch-and-the-imperfect-life-bookmarked-book-pamela-erens-9781632461315","title":"Middlemarch and the Imperfect Life: Bookmarked","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA Southern Booksellers Association Recommendation \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Erens makes an engaging and convincing case for the value of reading \u003ci\u003eMiddlemarch\u003c\/i\u003e today, when we are still struggling to answer the questions it raises--about marriage, about community, about society, and especially about how to balance our individual needs and desires against the claims of sympathy and conscience.\"\u003c\/b\u003e--\u003cb\u003eRohan Maitzen\u003c\/b\u003e, author, \u003ci\u003eWidening the Skirts of Light: Essays on George Eliot and Middlemarch for Book Clubs\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA masterly evocation of life in a provincial English community, \u003ci\u003eMiddlemarch\u003c\/i\u003e is considered perhaps the greatest novel of the Victorian era, praised by writers from Emily Dickinson to Virginia Woolf. \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn the latest volume in Ig's acclaimed Bookmarked series, critically lauded author Pamela Erens talks about how \u003ci\u003eMiddlemarch\u003c\/i\u003e \"rescued\" her, first as a distressed college student, and then during the tragic events of the global pandemic.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"In this trenchant memoir of reading and writing, Pamela Erens returns over a lifetime to George Eliot's \u003ci\u003eMiddlemarch\u003c\/i\u003e. The calm, understanding, and generosity that she finds in Eliot's masterpiece--albeit differently, at different moments in her own life--inflects Erens's own account of becoming, and being, a mother and a writer. This short book is filled with wisdom.\"--\u003cb\u003eClaire Messud\u003c\/b\u003e, author of \u003ci\u003eKant's Little Prussian Head and Other Reasons Why I Write and The Woman Upstairs\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"Thoughtful, frank, and always artful, \u003ci\u003eMiddlemarch and the Imperfect Life\u003c\/i\u003e is an involving and deeply satisfying account of the reading and writing life.\"--\u003cb\u003eRebecca Mead\u003c\/b\u003e, author, \u003ci\u003eMy Life in Middlemarch\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eHome\/Land\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49746365579537,"sku":"NGR9781632461315","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51041036239121,"sku":"NIN9781632461315","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1632461315.jpg?v=1751277374"},{"product_id":"matasha-book-pamela-erens-9781632461254","title":"Matasha","description":"\u003cp\u003e\"The many pleasures of this novel include its empathy and poker-faced wit, and the charms of its main character.\"--\u003cb\u003eMeg Wolitzer, New York Times Book Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"Beautifully renders the slow-motion alchemy of growing up; mesmerizing and memorable.\"\u003cbr\u003e --\u003cb\u003eKIRKUS (starred review)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eMatasha\u003c\/i\u003e evokes a time and a place and a childhood with startling honesty and clarity, honoring the intelligence of a curious younger reader and the sophistication of an older reader alike. I''ll follow Pamela Erens anywhere, and am not surprised that this is where she''s led me: to a brilliant, hilarious, sharp-edged novel for everyone.\"--\u003cb\u003eREBECCA MAKKAI,\u003c\/b\u003eauthor of \u003ci\u003eThe Great Believers\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"Authentic, witty, and painful, \u003ci\u003eMatasha\u003c\/i\u003e is a delightful middle grade debut, crammed with delicious period details. Matasha, an only child, must navigate awkward friendships, growth-hormone treatments, and parents who always bewilder and disappoint. A 1970s coming-of-age story that rings true of then--and now.\"--\u003cb\u003eMARINA BUDHOS\u003c\/b\u003e, author, \u003ci\u003eThe Long Ride\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eWatched\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eMatasha''s\u003c\/i\u003e brave and original heroine reminds me of \u003ci\u003eHarriet the Spy\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eBlubber\u003c\/i\u003e, her perspective captivating and inimitable. It''s a joy to watch Matasha grow up, making meaning of everything. This novel has tremendous sweep and scope, with all the joys, sorrows, and revelations of a real girlhood.\"--\u003cb\u003eRACHEL DEWOSKIN\u003c\/b\u003e, author of \u003ci\u003eBig Girl Small, Blind,\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eSomeday We Will Fly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"The narrator of \u003ci\u003eMatasha\u003c\/i\u003e may be small for her age but she is years ahead of her peers in how she faces a growing series of challenges. Matasha has to deal with the casual cruelty of her classmates, her growing alienation from her longtime best friend, her increasing awareness of her mother''s dissatisfaction, and her own health issues, handling them all with a thoughtfulness that feels realistic (especially when interrupted by the occasional spectacular temper tantrum). Readers of all ages will enjoy seeing 1970s Chicago from her vantage point.\" --\u003cb\u003eMICHELLE FALKOFF\u003c\/b\u003e, author of \u003ci\u003ePlaylist for the Dead\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eHow to Pack for the End of the World\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"Tender, funny, and endlessly surprising, \u003ci\u003eMatasha\u003c\/i\u003e perfectly captures the confusion of being an eleven year old girl and trying to solve all of life''s mysteries, big and small. This wonderful book--and the wonderful girl at its center--will stay with me for a very long time.\"--\u003cb\u003eROBIN WASSERMAN\u003c\/b\u003e, author, \u003ci\u003eGirls on Fire\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Book of Blood and Shadow\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eHacking Harvard\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIt''s 1970''s Chicago. Eleven-year-old Matasha Wax is in the sixth grade and just starting to feel the pressures of growing up. Her best friend Jean has been blowing her off, while her parents are in a standoff over her mother''s desire to adopt a refugee from Vietnam. And while the bullies in school have started to grow breasts and inches, Matasha remains a puny four-foot-four - which means she will need growth hormone shots, and she is terrified of needles. Apart from her daily reading of the advice columns in the newspaper, keeping up with the Patty Hearst and Watergate scandals, and tracking her parents'' deteriorating marriage, Matasha is fixated by the story of Martin Kimmel, a nine-year-old boy who disappeared a few months ago, and whose body has yet to be found. But none of these ongoing problems could have prepared Matasha for her mother''s sudden disappearance. When the letters start coming from Switzerland, she knows something is very, very wrong - but no one will tell her what''s going on, so Matasha has to figure it all out for herself. A tale of growing up and growing apart, \u003ci\u003eMatasha\u003c\/i\u003e is a poignant look at resilience in the face of adolescent loneliness, divorce, bullying and slow development. Pamela Erens has crafted an intimate novel for readers who loved \u003ci\u003eMy Jasper June\u003c\/i\u003e by Laurel Snyder, \u003ci\u003eThe Line Tender\u003c\/i\u003e by Kate Allen, and \u003ci\u003eSome Places More Than Others\u003c\/i\u003e by Renee Watson.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49803485446417,"sku":"CIN1632461250G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52752280158481,"sku":"NIN9781632461254","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1632461250.jpg?v=1750763039"},{"product_id":"eleven-hours-book-pamela-erens-9781941040294","title":"Eleven Hours","description":"Lore arrives at the hospital alone--no husband, no partner, no friends. Her birth plan is explicit: she wants no fetal monitor, no IV, no epidural. Franckline, a nurse in the maternity ward--herself on the verge of showing--is patient with the young woman. She knows what it's like to worry that something might go wrong, and she understands the distress when it does. She knows as well as anyone the severe challenge of childbirth, what it does to the mind and the body.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  Eleven Hours is the story of two soon-to-be mothers who, in the midst of a difficult labor, are forced to reckon with their pasts and re-create their futures. Lore must disentangle herself from a love triangle; Franckline must move beyond past traumas to accept the life that's waiting for her. Pamela Erens moves seamlessly between their begrudging partnership and the memories evoked by so intense an experience: for Lore, of the father of her child and her former best friend; for Franckline, of the family in Haiti from which she's exiled. At turns urgent and lyrical, Erens's novel is a visceral portrait of childbirth, and a vivid rendering of the way we approach motherhood--with fear and joy, anguish and awe.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50046538514705,"sku":"CIN1941040292G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50877558554897,"sku":"GOR010132242","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51058328404241,"sku":"NIN9781941040294","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51321933922577,"sku":"CIN1941040292VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1941040292.jpg?v=1765448116"},{"product_id":"understory-book-pamela-erens-9781935639855","title":"The Understory","description":"The Understory--the debut novel from the critically acclaimed author of The Virgins --is the haunting portrayal of Jack Gorse, an ex-lawyer, now unemployed, who walls off his inner life with elaborate rituals and routines. Every day he takes the same walk from his Upper West Side apartment to the Brooklyn Bridge. He follows the same path through Central Park; he stops to browse in the same bookstore, to eat lunch in the same diner. Threatened with eviction from his longtime apartment and caught off-guard by an attraction to a near stranger, Gorse takes steps that lead to the dramatic dissolution of the only existence he's known. As the narrative alternates between his days in New York City and his present life in a Vermont Buddhist Monastery, The Understory unfolds as both a mystery and a psychological study, revealing that repression and self-expression can be equally destructive.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":50394555842833,"sku":"CIN1935639854A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50394557841681,"sku":"CIN1935639854G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":53434472825105,"sku":"CIN1935639854VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1935639854.jpg?v=1765446964"},{"product_id":"matasha-book-pamela-erens-9781632462008","title":"Matasha","description":"\u003cp\u003e\"The many pleasures of this novel include its empathy and poker-faced wit, and the charms of its main character.\"--\u003cb\u003eMeg Wolitzer, New York Times Book Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"Beautifully renders the slow-motion alchemy of growing up; mesmerizing and memorable.\"--\u003cb\u003eKIRKUS (starred review)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eMatasha\u003c\/i\u003e evokes a time and a place and a childhood with startling honesty and clarity, honoring the intelligence of a curious younger reader and the sophistication of an older reader alike. I''ll follow Pamela Erens anywhere, and am not surprised that this is where she''s led me: to a brilliant, hilarious, sharp-edged novel for everyone.\"--\u003cb\u003eREBECCA MAKKAI,\u003c\/b\u003eauthor of \u003ci\u003eThe Great Believers\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"Authentic, witty, and painful, \u003ci\u003eMatasha\u003c\/i\u003e is a delightful middle grade debut, crammed with delicious period details. Matasha, an only child, must navigate awkward friendships, growth-hormone treatments, and parents who always bewilder and disappoint. A 1970s coming-of-age story that rings true of then--and now.\"--\u003cb\u003eMARINA BUDHOS\u003c\/b\u003e, author, \u003ci\u003eThe Long Ride\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eWatched\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eMatasha''s\u003c\/i\u003e brave and original heroine reminds me of \u003ci\u003eHarriet the Spy\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eBlubber\u003c\/i\u003e, her perspective captivating and inimitable. It''s a joy to watch Matasha grow up, making meaning of everything. This novel has tremendous sweep and scope, with all the joys, sorrows, and revelations of a real girlhood.\"--\u003cb\u003eRACHEL DEWOSKIN\u003c\/b\u003e, author of \u003ci\u003eBig Girl Small, Blind,\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eSomeday We Will Fly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"The narrator of \u003ci\u003eMatasha\u003c\/i\u003e may be small for her age but she is years ahead of her peers in how she faces a growing series of challenges. Matasha has to deal with the casual cruelty of her classmates, her growing alienation from her longtime best friend, her increasing awareness of her mother''s dissatisfaction, and her own health issues, handling them all with a thoughtfulness that feels realistic (especially when interrupted by the occasional spectacular temper tantrum). Readers of all ages will enjoy seeing 1970s Chicago from her vantage point.\" --\u003cb\u003eMICHELLE FALKOFF\u003c\/b\u003e, author of \u003ci\u003ePlaylist for the Dead\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eHow to Pack for the End of the World\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"Tender, funny, and endlessly surprising, \u003ci\u003eMatasha\u003c\/i\u003e perfectly captures the confusion of being an eleven year old girl and trying to solve all of life''s mysteries, big and small. This wonderful book--and the wonderful girl at its center--will stay with me for a very long time.\"--\u003cb\u003eROBIN WASSERMAN\u003c\/b\u003e, author, \u003ci\u003eGirls on Fire\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Book of Blood and Shadow\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eHacking Harvard\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eIt''s 1970''s Chicago. Eleven-year-old Matasha Wax is in the sixth grade and just starting to feel the pressures of growing up. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHer best friend Jean has been blowing her off, while her parents are in a standoff over her mother''s desire to adopt a refugee from Vietnam. And while the bullies in school have started to grow breasts and inches, Matasha remains a puny four-foot-four - which means she will need growth hormone shots, and she is terrified of needles. Apart from her daily reading of the advice columns in the newspaper, keeping up with the Patty Hearst and Watergate scandals, and tracking her parents'' deteriorating marriage, Matasha is fixated by the story of Martin Kimmel, a nine-year-old boy who disappeared a few months ago, and whose body has yet to be found. But none of these ongoing problems could have prepared Matasha for her mother''s sudden disappearance. \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhen the letters start coming from Switzerland, she knows something is very, very wrong - but no one will tell her what''s going on, so Matasha has to figure it all out for herself. A tale of growing up and growing apart, \u003ci\u003eMatasha\u003c\/i\u003e is a poignant look at resilience in the face of adolescent loneliness, divorce, bullying and slow development. Pamela Erens has crafted an intimate novel for readers who loved \u003ci\u003eMy Jasper June\u003c\/i\u003e by Laurel Snyder, \u003ci\u003eThe Line Tender\u003c\/i\u003e by Kate Allen, and \u003ci\u003eSome Places More Than Others\u003c\/i\u003e by Renee Watson.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50397512859921,"sku":"CIN1632462001VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51041569931537,"sku":"NIN9781632462008","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1632462001.jpg?v=1750799517"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/collections\/author-books-by-pamela-erens.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}