"Well worth reading - a coming of age set in the 80s"
Age of Consent
By: Amanda Brainerd
Genres: Women's Fiction | Coming of Age
Posted: July 30, 2020
Justine may not have been destined to attend a private boarding school, but she made it happen anyway. She did not come from money, but she managed to obtain a full scholarship to the Griswold Academy. It is there that she met Eve who was a child of privilege from New York City. Eve wished she had some of the freedoms Justine had and Justine wished she had Eve's financial freedom. Their time together at Griswold was not uneventful.
The story takes place in the 1980s and flows from Connecticut to New York City. It deals with sex, alcohol and drugs. Eve's closest friend, India, resides in New York and she is a fascinating character. Justine is savvy and wise and Eve is sophisticated, but India is exotic. Perhaps shaped by a tragedy, she is a survivor.
The characters are well developed. They may be flawed, but are deep thinkers and in their own ways, they seem to care about each other. By the end of the story, it is interesting to see who they are after their time together.
AGE OF CONSENT is a well-written coming of age story that takes a close look at the different backgrounds of the characters and how they have shaped who they are.
Book Summary
A daringly honest, sexy debut novel about three young women coming of age in 1980s New England and New York--a bingeable summer read
It's 1983. David Bowie reigns supreme, and downtown Manhattan has never been cooler. But Justine and Eve are stuck at Griswold Academy, a Connecticut boarding school. Griswold is a far cry from Justine's bohemian life in New Haven, where her parents run a theater and struggle to pay the bills. Eve, the sophisticated daughter of status-obsessed Park Avenue parents, also feels like an outsider amidst Griswold's preppy jocks and debutantes. Justine longs for Eve's privilege, and Eve for Justine's sexual confidence. Despite their differences, they form a deep friendship, together grappling with drugs, alcohol, ill-fated crushes, and predatory male teachers.
After a tumultuous school year, Eve and Justine spend the summer in New York City where they join Eve's childhood friend India. Justine moves into India's Hell's Kitchen apartment and is pulled further into her friends' glamorous lives. Eve, under her parents' ever-watchful eye, interns at a SoHo art gallery and navigates the unpredictable whims of her boss. India struggles to resist the advances of a famous artist represented by the gallery. All three are affected by their sexual relationships with older men and the power adults hold over them, even as the young women begin to assert their independence.
A captivating, timeless novel about friendship, sex, and parental damage, Amanda Brainerd's Age of Consent intimately evokes the heady freedom of our teenage years.
Read an Excerpt
by: Amanda Brainerd
Viking
July 1, 2020
On Sale: July 14, 2020
Featuring: Eve Straus; Justine Rubin; India
336 pages
ISBN: 1984879529
EAN: 9781984879523
Kindle: B081M6Q22W
Hardcover / e-Book / audiobook