If the past is indeed a foreign country, and they do things differently there, I think New York writer Amanda Brainerd grew up in an era halfway between the past and now, in both time and place. The places she covers in this first novel AGE OF CONSENT, include 1980s boarding schools which will not be the same now, while some settings like the Hamptons are timeless.

Eve and Justine meet at school and another girl, India, stays at home in the city. They have rich connections or none, arty parents or divorcing drunks or both, and they are united in their desire to grow up fast. The bitter winter cold precludes spending too much time outdoors but they sneak out for cigarettes or trysts in the trees with boys like Clay, Bruce and David; they hang out in cramped rooms and learn the hard way that boys don’t respect girls.

India is something of a token as she is multicultural but from a rich arty family, and taking a flat in a dive in Hell’s Kitchen is her way of escaping from her addict father. Her bank account could stand better. She’s got a horse, but we only meet the horse once.

I was disappointed that potentially outstanding young women let themselves down by gorging on all the soft and hard drugs they can find, while blaming their parents’ influences or lack of them for everything that happens. Maybe the author is portraying what she saw at times while growing up; we all live and learn. Another worrying factor is the creepy teacher who spends time with and makes advances to girls, with the excuse of going over their English essays. The past, the past. This wouldn’t happen now, or today’s young people would be far more clued in and confident enough to take a stand against exploitation.

As the young women find boys at school so immature, maybe it’s no surprise that summer in the city brings them in contact with older men – who treat young women as prey. Drunks and drug dealers abound. I found some fantastic descriptive passages in AGE OF CONSENT, but they are seldom providing experiences I’d want to live.  If you are interested in learning what the early eighties in NY were like – or reliving that time if you already know – you could get to know Amanda Brainerd, whose detail fixes the setting firmly. This tale is either women’s fiction or New Adult, depending on your point of view.  

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