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Nina: Adolescence
Still struggling with her toddler brother's death years earlier, fifteen-year-old Nina becomes the subject in a series of nude paintings by her haunted mother and is forced to deal with her burgeoning sexuality in front of a large and critical audience when the paintings go public. A first novel. Reprint.
320 pages, Paperback
First published May 16, 2003
5 people are currently reading
102 people want to read
About the author
Amy Hassinger
5 books46 followersAmy Hassinger grew up in Newton, Massachusetts, and graduated from Barnard College and the Iowa Writers' Workshop, where she received her MFA in fiction writing. She is the author of three novels: NINA: ADOLESCENCE, THE PRIEST'S MADONNA, and AFTER THE DAM, forthcoming in September 2016. Her writing has been translated into five languages and has won awards from Creative Nonfiction, Publisher’s Weekly, and the Illinois Arts Council. Her work has appeared in numerous venues, including The New York Times, Creative Nonfiction, The Writers’ Chronicle, and The Los Angeles Review of Books. She is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and teaches in the University of Nebraska’s MFA in Writing Program.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
October 31, 2013
Like several of the other reviewers, I found this book by chance. During a rainy day visit to the used bookstore (in which I was attempting to provide a diversion for my overly hyper-children who are counting down the minutes to Halloween), I stumbled upon it in the clearance section. When I read the summary on the back, I thought it sounded similar to Dani Shapiro's *Black and White*. The plot of both books centers around an artist mother and her portraits of her nude daughter (in Shapiro's book, the portraits are photographs and the daughter is an adult who looks back at that time period.) Initially, I thought it would be interesting to read this alternate perspective of how it felt for the daughter "in the moment." I opened it up to the first chapter: "Nina's brother, Jonas, died on a humid July afternoon, when she was eleven years old." Upon reading this line, I realized that this would be a different, very complex, story and so I promptly plopped my $3 down and eagerly rushed home, so I could immerse myself in it.
I was not disappointed. This is a rich novel, a completely realistic characterization of a family knocked off balance by the loss of a son, of a marriage marred by years of anger and resentment, and of a sensitive, perceptive adolescent girl--struggling to realize her adult identity--who wants things to be right and mistakenly (like many adolescents) believes that she can singlehandedly fix it.
Some reviewers said Hassinger tried to cover too much, that there were too many pieces to the plot, too much description of the most minute details. I emphatically disagree with those assessments. What is adolescence if it is not the highly sensitized perception of EVERY thing--both big and small--that happens? Because Nina is sensitive, because she is perceptive, because she hears, sees, and smells everything--because she is overwhelmed by all of it, she is real. The mark of adolescence angst is that the world just seems like too much to take. And sometimes it is too much to take, as in the case of Nina.
Overall, I would recommend this book to everyone, but especially to anyone trying to get into the head of a teenage girl.
I was not disappointed. This is a rich novel, a completely realistic characterization of a family knocked off balance by the loss of a son, of a marriage marred by years of anger and resentment, and of a sensitive, perceptive adolescent girl--struggling to realize her adult identity--who wants things to be right and mistakenly (like many adolescents) believes that she can singlehandedly fix it.
Some reviewers said Hassinger tried to cover too much, that there were too many pieces to the plot, too much description of the most minute details. I emphatically disagree with those assessments. What is adolescence if it is not the highly sensitized perception of EVERY thing--both big and small--that happens? Because Nina is sensitive, because she is perceptive, because she hears, sees, and smells everything--because she is overwhelmed by all of it, she is real. The mark of adolescence angst is that the world just seems like too much to take. And sometimes it is too much to take, as in the case of Nina.
Overall, I would recommend this book to everyone, but especially to anyone trying to get into the head of a teenage girl.
June 3, 2013
I kept this book on my shelf for months before my school schedule slowed down enough for me to get to it, and I'm glad I finally got to it! Nina: Adolescence was a captivating read for a lot of reasons. First of all, every character is infinitely interesting - the growing young girl who is a rock for her mother, the emotionally wrecked mother, the quiet concerned father, the politely domineering art critic. And of course the circumstances of those characters - Nina's budding friendship with a free-spirited classmate, her tense and ever-evolving relationship with her mother, the mother's history with the art critic, the marriage of Nina's parents. And then everything is intertwined, muddled, complicated.
But it isn't just plot that pulls us through this intricately crafted work of literary prowess. It's also the peek into adolescence that we get, entirely different from, while eerily similar to, the one that art lovers in the book get. Having never been an adolescent girl myself, the novel put me almost uncomfortably close to the worries, uncertainties, and small tragedies of adolescent girlhood. Furthermore ...
*spoiler alert* ... the increasingly inappropriate and shocking relationship between Nina and her mother's ex-lover provides what I think is an important perspective for men in our society to take up. I volunteered for two years with a feminist organization providing sexual health education and assistance for survivors of sexual assault, among other resources. Despite my close acquaintance to these issues, reading Amy Hassinger's first novel gave me a greater understanding of sexual coercion and the overwhelming difficulty of voicing the word "No" than I ever could have gotten in that environment, at least from where I stood as a white man. I felt that the same aspects of the novel that provided that perspective also illustrated very real dimensions of masculine dominance still prominent in our society.
All in all, whatever you're looking for, whether it be food for contemplation, fodder for book club discussion, or a good read for the train, you can find it in Amy Hassinger's Nina: Adolescence.
But it isn't just plot that pulls us through this intricately crafted work of literary prowess. It's also the peek into adolescence that we get, entirely different from, while eerily similar to, the one that art lovers in the book get. Having never been an adolescent girl myself, the novel put me almost uncomfortably close to the worries, uncertainties, and small tragedies of adolescent girlhood. Furthermore ...
*spoiler alert* ... the increasingly inappropriate and shocking relationship between Nina and her mother's ex-lover provides what I think is an important perspective for men in our society to take up. I volunteered for two years with a feminist organization providing sexual health education and assistance for survivors of sexual assault, among other resources. Despite my close acquaintance to these issues, reading Amy Hassinger's first novel gave me a greater understanding of sexual coercion and the overwhelming difficulty of voicing the word "No" than I ever could have gotten in that environment, at least from where I stood as a white man. I felt that the same aspects of the novel that provided that perspective also illustrated very real dimensions of masculine dominance still prominent in our society.
All in all, whatever you're looking for, whether it be food for contemplation, fodder for book club discussion, or a good read for the train, you can find it in Amy Hassinger's Nina: Adolescence.
Read
November 20, 2011All right, this book definitely merits a review. I picked it up because it was written by an author that won the fiction prize at a college I'm interested in, and so I searched the book on Amazon and saw unanimously favorable reviews.
The writing is not bad. Taken out of context, it's very, very good. But the thing is that it's SO much description, and in SO many places. Being a dialogue person myself, I can't really stand that much description. As someone I know said, I don't need to know every color of every leaf! (which I found later: "Through the sliding door, she could see the low sun filtering through the branches of the pines, casting long thin shadows across the lawn. The leaves had begun to change, to crimson, russet, mustard yellow. Some had fallen on the surface of the pond, and they trembled there on the skin of water.")
That's just an example of what the book is the whole way through. It's a good story, but I'll admit that I honestly expected there to be more about Nina posing for her mother (which I thought was the main point, about what drives a mother to do that, etc.) and which I saw only in that second scene.
Also, sometimes I felt as though the author didn't really know what it was like to be a teenager herself - that I could identify with Nina but only to a point, that I kept pushing harder and wasn't satisfied in relating to her.
I was expecting more out of the book than what I got. I'm glad I read it, and it was a quick read (more so any other book I've read this fall) but I wish that it focused more on Nina's relationship with her mother as a result of the posing, and it didn't.
I felt as though the author didn't have enough plot to fill up the book, and had to describe the pond every fifty pages, or one small scene for a full page. It could have been half its length - or less. I think that if we backtracked a bit more, in the middle of Nina's posing for her mother and not the end - it would be stronger.
Would I recommend? Yes.
The writing is not bad. Taken out of context, it's very, very good. But the thing is that it's SO much description, and in SO many places. Being a dialogue person myself, I can't really stand that much description. As someone I know said, I don't need to know every color of every leaf! (which I found later: "Through the sliding door, she could see the low sun filtering through the branches of the pines, casting long thin shadows across the lawn. The leaves had begun to change, to crimson, russet, mustard yellow. Some had fallen on the surface of the pond, and they trembled there on the skin of water.")
That's just an example of what the book is the whole way through. It's a good story, but I'll admit that I honestly expected there to be more about Nina posing for her mother (which I thought was the main point, about what drives a mother to do that, etc.) and which I saw only in that second scene.
Also, sometimes I felt as though the author didn't really know what it was like to be a teenager herself - that I could identify with Nina but only to a point, that I kept pushing harder and wasn't satisfied in relating to her.
I was expecting more out of the book than what I got. I'm glad I read it, and it was a quick read (more so any other book I've read this fall) but I wish that it focused more on Nina's relationship with her mother as a result of the posing, and it didn't.
I felt as though the author didn't have enough plot to fill up the book, and had to describe the pond every fifty pages, or one small scene for a full page. It could have been half its length - or less. I think that if we backtracked a bit more, in the middle of Nina's posing for her mother and not the end - it would be stronger.
Would I recommend? Yes.
October 18, 2007
The Writing is Extraordinary
Nina: Adolescence is a character study, with intense focus on a modern family trying to survive a horrible tragedy. Nina experiences adolescence scarred from the death of her young brother. He was only four years old when he drowns in the backyard pond while under her watch, and she, at the age of 11, becomes the only child of damaged parents. In their grief, her mother—a painter—turns inward, while her father turns to the whiskey bottle. We learn the marriage was rocky before their son’s death, and we also learn that Nina tries to bring her mother out of her depression by posing nude for a series of paintings. The posing and painting process works to bring mother and daughter together, although it alienates the father.
The paintings are shown at a Boston gallery and are breakthrough work for her mother’s art career. And once the paintings are displayed and admired, a “creep factor” seeps into their world and into the story. It’s one thing to read about typical, self-loathing body image of a teenager as she develops, it’s another still to imagine it on display for the world to see, and to purchase. I refer to the keynote painting of the exhibit, “Nina: Adolescence.”
Minor characters are few but also well developed. Raissa, Nina’s only friend, who she meets in dance class, brings a spark to Nina’s life. And then there’s Leo—an absolute predator—who takes the story in such a repelling and sad direction, it almost became unbearable to read. If it weren’t for the truly excellent writing and the power to bring out such strong emotion in me, I might not have finished this book. This is a disciplined and talented writer, with elegant descriptions. One is pulled through the story with great ease, in spite of the grim subject and the suffering characters.
Nina: Adolescence is a character study, with intense focus on a modern family trying to survive a horrible tragedy. Nina experiences adolescence scarred from the death of her young brother. He was only four years old when he drowns in the backyard pond while under her watch, and she, at the age of 11, becomes the only child of damaged parents. In their grief, her mother—a painter—turns inward, while her father turns to the whiskey bottle. We learn the marriage was rocky before their son’s death, and we also learn that Nina tries to bring her mother out of her depression by posing nude for a series of paintings. The posing and painting process works to bring mother and daughter together, although it alienates the father.
The paintings are shown at a Boston gallery and are breakthrough work for her mother’s art career. And once the paintings are displayed and admired, a “creep factor” seeps into their world and into the story. It’s one thing to read about typical, self-loathing body image of a teenager as she develops, it’s another still to imagine it on display for the world to see, and to purchase. I refer to the keynote painting of the exhibit, “Nina: Adolescence.”
Minor characters are few but also well developed. Raissa, Nina’s only friend, who she meets in dance class, brings a spark to Nina’s life. And then there’s Leo—an absolute predator—who takes the story in such a repelling and sad direction, it almost became unbearable to read. If it weren’t for the truly excellent writing and the power to bring out such strong emotion in me, I might not have finished this book. This is a disciplined and talented writer, with elegant descriptions. One is pulled through the story with great ease, in spite of the grim subject and the suffering characters.
July 26, 2011
Found this at a funky used bookstore in Providence and it was one of those books that looks like I will love it--and I did. Beautiful, real, haunting, jolting, yet quiet. This is the kind of lovely unknown that I devour.
October 21, 2012
Poignant. A tale of a truly painful adolescence turning a child into a woman too quickly.
April 5, 2019
I DNF'd this book at page 205 of 304, or the end of chapter 8. Normally, if I get this far this quickly (it's taken me less than 20 hours), I will push through to the end, but I can't with this one. I think there are some topics so taboo that only the most experienced, talented novelists are able to write about them well and organically. (Read: Hassinger, at this point in her career, was not one of these novelists. Hang on 'til (or skip to) the end for a book recommendation that will give you a world like Nina: Adolescence, but much better.)
Hassinger is unable to organically write in Nina, a 15 year old, willingly visiting with a man of 36, whom she knows only as the father of her younger, DEAD brother, who was conceived in adultery unbeknownst to Nina's father. She is unable to organically write in this 15 year old allowing herself to be kissed by this man, then, knowing she doesn't like it, willingly takes off her clothes at his house and is then raped (statutorily, but even then it's muddy and seems more like straight-up rape than anything) on a completely separate occasion. Had this been an organically-written situation, Nina would have been disgusted with him, just as she had been before, just as she had been with her mother for cheating on her father with this pedophile.
Hassinger makes a point to note all of Leo's flaws through Nina's eyes, and to explain the burning anger she feels toward her mother, and the sadness and love she feels for her father. Nina feels guilty that her younger brother died on her watch, and furious that the boy had been abandoned by his biological father, Leo. Which all make sense.
But what doesn't make sense is her sexuality, which should be "budding" at 15, but is instead bursting, out of nowhere. Nina goes from not being able to imagine a boy speaking to her, let alone touching her, to having sex with the man who ran away from his responsibilities - his child, by her own mother. The Nina I expected would have recoiled, not gone back for more. There isn't even a sexual progression, the "first, second, third base" thing, if you will. Leo kisses her once, and then, BOOM, sex the next time they meet up. The mild homosexuality between Nina and her friend Raissa is acceptable. Normal, even. Organic. But I was once 15, and could never have done what Nina did with Leo. I don't know if anyone but this fictional girl could have.
I became so disinterested with and unattached to Nina and the rest of her story that I didn't care what happened to her, or her mother, or Leo, or even her father, who is the only truly likable character in this book. That is why I DNF'd it - I realized that there was no possible ending I could have imagined that would have made this book worth reading from cover to cover.
To reiterate, in closing: there are some things that you just aren't able to make realistic within a novel. Some themes are just too taboo to write well, and the only way to make them work is if you're a damn good, experienced writer. As this was Hassinger's debut novel, it is clear she wasn't ready to take on such heavy topics at the time.
If you want a good book that is similar in content but written meticulously, read Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov. It certainly feels like this novel is a rip-off of Lolita. But Nina is hardly likable, with a watered-down personality in comparison to fiery Lolita. Don't waste your time with this book - you wouldn't buy generic-brand sandwich cookies if Oreos were sitting right next to them, for the same price.
Hassinger is unable to organically write in Nina, a 15 year old, willingly visiting with a man of 36, whom she knows only as the father of her younger, DEAD brother, who was conceived in adultery unbeknownst to Nina's father. She is unable to organically write in this 15 year old allowing herself to be kissed by this man, then, knowing she doesn't like it, willingly takes off her clothes at his house and is then raped (statutorily, but even then it's muddy and seems more like straight-up rape than anything) on a completely separate occasion. Had this been an organically-written situation, Nina would have been disgusted with him, just as she had been before, just as she had been with her mother for cheating on her father with this pedophile.
Hassinger makes a point to note all of Leo's flaws through Nina's eyes, and to explain the burning anger she feels toward her mother, and the sadness and love she feels for her father. Nina feels guilty that her younger brother died on her watch, and furious that the boy had been abandoned by his biological father, Leo. Which all make sense.
But what doesn't make sense is her sexuality, which should be "budding" at 15, but is instead bursting, out of nowhere. Nina goes from not being able to imagine a boy speaking to her, let alone touching her, to having sex with the man who ran away from his responsibilities - his child, by her own mother. The Nina I expected would have recoiled, not gone back for more. There isn't even a sexual progression, the "first, second, third base" thing, if you will. Leo kisses her once, and then, BOOM, sex the next time they meet up. The mild homosexuality between Nina and her friend Raissa is acceptable. Normal, even. Organic. But I was once 15, and could never have done what Nina did with Leo. I don't know if anyone but this fictional girl could have.
I became so disinterested with and unattached to Nina and the rest of her story that I didn't care what happened to her, or her mother, or Leo, or even her father, who is the only truly likable character in this book. That is why I DNF'd it - I realized that there was no possible ending I could have imagined that would have made this book worth reading from cover to cover.
To reiterate, in closing: there are some things that you just aren't able to make realistic within a novel. Some themes are just too taboo to write well, and the only way to make them work is if you're a damn good, experienced writer. As this was Hassinger's debut novel, it is clear she wasn't ready to take on such heavy topics at the time.
If you want a good book that is similar in content but written meticulously, read Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov. It certainly feels like this novel is a rip-off of Lolita. But Nina is hardly likable, with a watered-down personality in comparison to fiery Lolita. Don't waste your time with this book - you wouldn't buy generic-brand sandwich cookies if Oreos were sitting right next to them, for the same price.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 30, 2023
30/50
In 2023 I am going to dust off and read fifty books from my to-read list.
No memory of how this made it into the to-read stack. And just because this book made me feel unhappy, uncomfortable and other negative emotions doesn’t make it bad. It probably makes it really good. If nothing else, Hassinger is an amazing author who with the right material (I think the topic of Nina: Adolescence is a bit hard for the mainstream to accept, especially now) she could be an indie darling up there with the best of them.
One of those books you should read if you feel like you should. Not perfect, and lacking in the true ambiguity I’d hoped for, though making it clear said ambiguity wasn’t going to be present from the opening, and yet more impactful than any random used book should be.
PS: The description of this edition states Nina “has an affair” with her mother’s 36-year-old ex lover. No, a 15-year-old doesn’t “have an affair” with an adult. Tsk tsk.
In 2023 I am going to dust off and read fifty books from my to-read list.
No memory of how this made it into the to-read stack. And just because this book made me feel unhappy, uncomfortable and other negative emotions doesn’t make it bad. It probably makes it really good. If nothing else, Hassinger is an amazing author who with the right material (I think the topic of Nina: Adolescence is a bit hard for the mainstream to accept, especially now) she could be an indie darling up there with the best of them.
One of those books you should read if you feel like you should. Not perfect, and lacking in the true ambiguity I’d hoped for, though making it clear said ambiguity wasn’t going to be present from the opening, and yet more impactful than any random used book should be.
PS: The description of this edition states Nina “has an affair” with her mother’s 36-year-old ex lover. No, a 15-year-old doesn’t “have an affair” with an adult. Tsk tsk.
January 29, 2020
I first discovered Hassinger's books when I found out she was teaching one of my introductory writing courses. I read her most recent work "After the Dam" and enjoyed her powerful prose and the message the book sent. Despite being published years ago, Nina: Adolescence feels important in today's society. It reminded me of the innocence of youth, while also showing hardships of childhood.
January 19, 2023
What a wonderful book. Such a creative concept that perfectly illustrates girlhood, friendship, loss, relationships; and so much more. I especially loved the end. This book is unforgettable
July 16, 2023
devastating but also weirdly real but also disturbing
May 12, 2024
Beautiful. Disturbing. An excruciating, triggering window into female awakening on so many levels. Gasp, sigh, sob, smile. Repeat.
Adolescence and beyond.
Adolescence and beyond.
January 25, 2025
The imperfections and complexities of the characters and their actions are painted beautifully. The writing is moving and engaging, the story is haunting in a sadly familiar way.
February 20, 2017
What a touching, sensitive treatment of an often painful story. We usually think parents make sacrifices for their children but children too make sacrifices for their parent - in their desire to please, to overcome guilt. And in their confusion, they turn to people who take advantage of them. But there are no recriminations in this story, just a matter of fact telling and healing. I checked the author's bio and she said: "How can we best care for one another in the face of space-time’s brutal beauty? My work chases that question." She certainly did it in this book.
August 5, 2012
What an excellent book! We enter the book when Nina's little brother drowns. This, of course, changes the course of her life and sends her sensitive adolescent developing mind into a spiral. As a result, the writer, does an excellent job of plotting the path to sexual addiction and eating disorders. Nina finds herself prey to a sexual predator who knows, right from the beginning that he intends to seduce her. The author does a skillful job of describing the slippery slope of addiction where in the beginning Nina felt she had all the control, all the power of sex, over this older man. She doesn't understand that she is being manipulated by this man and that he started grooming her from the moment that they met. As things progress, she begins to have sex with him at every opportunity, keeping the relationship from everyone they knew. But the more sexually involved they became, the more Nina wants to disappear. She is sure that something is wrong with her and begins to lose weight in order to become the attractive person she thinks she isn't. The more weight she loses, the more attractive Leo, the manipulator, thought her. Finally Nina catches him with her mother and it all comes to a head. FASCINATING book. I was angered by Leo and by the complete oblivion of her parents. So many people have told me that a teenage girl "can't be" sexually abused. After all, with all of the TV, media, she knows what's she's doing. But this book tells an excellent story of just how things start.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 1, 2012
This book was read by Mia Barron, who did a wonderful job with the characterizations and the attitudes of a teenager. A powerful novel of growing up, love, families, secrets, lust and its consequences and art. Nina Begley is a 15 year old girl living in the Boston area. In the prologue, when she is 11, her little brother drowned in a pond in their backyard. 4 years later, Nina and her parents are still facing the consequences of this tragedy. Her father is dousing himself with drink. Her mother, in order to bring herself back, starts painting. She decides to paint Nina nude as her adolescent body goes through its changes. The title of the book is the title of one of the paintings. Nina's mother has an opening at which she shows a bunch of nude portraits of Nina. There, Nina meets an art critic and former lover of her mother's. Through a number of events, Nina and this man eventually start sleeping together. The consequences of this for Nina and her family are devastating as lies pile on top of lies in her coverup. The ending of the book is powerful. I could not stop listening.
August 5, 2014
Nina is a compelling character and she ate at me even when not reading; for the first time in a long, long time, I found myself thinking about her between readings and I could read for two hours feeling like it passed in an instant. I was only occasionally jolted back to reality by my son's video games or the infrequent need to re-read a sentence. The images in the book are startling; they are detailed but in a new way, more detailed in the feeling rather than the tangible.
The themes of teenage depression and being lost are universal so the uniqueness of this story was how they manifested. Questions, thoughts, and contemplation inspired in me are what I loved about this book. It made me think about my own life and human behavior. There is no mystery in how what Nina experienced led to her choices and suffering, but those experiences were not so clear to Nina or those around her at the time. Overall, the book was superb. I found the writing quality, pace, plot, and characters excellent.
The themes of teenage depression and being lost are universal so the uniqueness of this story was how they manifested. Questions, thoughts, and contemplation inspired in me are what I loved about this book. It made me think about my own life and human behavior. There is no mystery in how what Nina experienced led to her choices and suffering, but those experiences were not so clear to Nina or those around her at the time. Overall, the book was superb. I found the writing quality, pace, plot, and characters excellent.
November 24, 2008
Hassinger's writing is extremely powerful emotionally. The prose flows wonderfully and the characters are strikingly vivid. The most impressive aspect of the book, though, is how emotionally engaging it is. It really pulls you in and you aren't quite comfortable putting it down. You think, just one more chapter and then I'll go do BLANK. Then, you've already read the book. I don't think anyone could read this without being emotionally engaged.
February 12, 2016
This novel revolves around a dysfunctional family and become more and more morose. Nina: adolescence is the title of the painting that is part of an art show featuring her mother's nude paintings of Nina over several years. The novel begins with Nina's four-year-old brother drowning and the family's reaction. The story includes the debasement of Nina and her mother and other perversions. Don't bother.
May 29, 2011
a tricky one to review. there's a LOT of ground covered in this book, much of it difficult. fairly well done but i can't love it. maybe a bit too much all at once. any one of the issues raised would have made a fine book all on its own. although i can't separate them out; it's meant to be a cascade, and i suppose that's what adolescence is.
February 21, 2009
Another stumbled upon book - at one point in my life I knew the authors brother he was proud and gave me a copy. A good story about a troubled girl growing up with a fear that she killed her little brother. She turns a little self deprecating and destructive towards the end- gripping
December 29, 2014
Really 3.5 stars but it was an interesting premise so I'll give it 4. Easy read and not too predictable. Would have liked a little more character development, especially for the "dad" in the story. Just passed it along to a friend.
July 16, 2021
The plot was a bit confusing, but it was beautifully written.
Edit: I don’t remember exactly what the plot was again (have to re-read, but from what I remember, this was a story of how trauma and exploitation affected a child’s life and mental state).
Edit: I don’t remember exactly what the plot was again (have to re-read, but from what I remember, this was a story of how trauma and exploitation affected a child’s life and mental state).
Read
January 31, 2011This book was filled with a lot of detail. I had the hardest time putting the book down. The ending was nothing what I expected it would be.
July 9, 2012
Strange departure from other teen books. Gripping the whole way through and quite sad at times.
March 30, 2017
Loved how it skirted cliche but was still so unique. Loved how Nina had to learn how people use each other all while she was using people. Love how it wasn't necessarily a tidy ending, a fully upward arc, all of these things together making it very true.
April 19, 2017
This review addresses both the book and the audiobook. This audiobook is an endearing story about a young girl emerging into womanhood and the many expected and unexpected dilemmas that come with that growth. Most young women wage war with their self-image, but Nina not only battles with her own inner demons, she faces additional pressure with her naked body being publicly displayed. Her mother, a painter, has cataloged Nina's transformation from child to adult in a series of nude portraits that are being shown in a gallery. Nina also carries a burden-the guilt for the death of her younger brother, four years prior to the beginning of the story. Her lost brother is detrimental enough for her to become quite introverted. She does not have any friends in school-until she meets Raissa, a friend from her dance class. In addition, as her mother's acclaim grows, a personal friend and renowned art critic, Leo takes a very deep and dangerous interest in Nina.
Nina's two primary relationships (Nina and Raissa, Nina and Leo) comprised much of the book. From Raissa, Nina learns about friendship and redevelops her youthful exuberance, which was lost with her brother. Their relationship is the typical teenage friendship but it is completely new to Nina who has not had friends. They fight, they laugh, they play "Truth or Dare". The two friends find themselves in a slew of teenage predicaments and remain friends through it all.
The intricate relationship that develops with Leo is another beast altogether. Leo, who was close to Nina's mother, takes a sexual interest in the fifteen-year-old, seducing the innocent Nina with cunning and guile. Amazingly, the talented author is able to deliver this part of the story in a believable manner. Her writing does not pass judgment-rather the author provides keen insight into Nina's mind to find that Nina's actions are a result of a combination of her confusion, her budding sexuality, and Leo's advances.
Another strong aspect to this story is Nina's relationship with her parents. While she does love her parents-she jumps back and forth with them in regards to how she feels towards them. They frustrate her one moment and are the best parents ever in the next moment. Her parents are present throughout the book, but much like everyone's teenage years-they may be there, but in many regards they are not there. They are no longer completely involved in their daughter's life and they begin to understand that Nina is becoming an adult with her own life.
This story captures the nuances of a female's emergence into womanhood. The author is able to freeze those memorable events of youthful discovery that many reminisce over delightfully. In addition, the realism of the story makes it that much more compelling-all elements of the story are so believable that one never really thinks, "Oh that couldn't happen."
Mia Barron does a fantastic narration of this book. Her tone was perfect for the exuberance, youthfulness, and energy of Nina. Mia captivated Nina with superb precision, however, there was one fault. This reviewer happens to be from the Boston area-where the story takes place. Knowing that the Boston accent can be a bit obnoxious, I can understand doing a flat accent for a dialogue, but the narrator delivers much of the dialogue in an accent resembling the Wisconsin/Minnesota region. Being distinctly familiar with the accent, I did find this a little disrupting. But her skill is not to be underrated-her depiction of a teenager emerging into womanhood is right on key.
Nina's two primary relationships (Nina and Raissa, Nina and Leo) comprised much of the book. From Raissa, Nina learns about friendship and redevelops her youthful exuberance, which was lost with her brother. Their relationship is the typical teenage friendship but it is completely new to Nina who has not had friends. They fight, they laugh, they play "Truth or Dare". The two friends find themselves in a slew of teenage predicaments and remain friends through it all.
The intricate relationship that develops with Leo is another beast altogether. Leo, who was close to Nina's mother, takes a sexual interest in the fifteen-year-old, seducing the innocent Nina with cunning and guile. Amazingly, the talented author is able to deliver this part of the story in a believable manner. Her writing does not pass judgment-rather the author provides keen insight into Nina's mind to find that Nina's actions are a result of a combination of her confusion, her budding sexuality, and Leo's advances.
Another strong aspect to this story is Nina's relationship with her parents. While she does love her parents-she jumps back and forth with them in regards to how she feels towards them. They frustrate her one moment and are the best parents ever in the next moment. Her parents are present throughout the book, but much like everyone's teenage years-they may be there, but in many regards they are not there. They are no longer completely involved in their daughter's life and they begin to understand that Nina is becoming an adult with her own life.
This story captures the nuances of a female's emergence into womanhood. The author is able to freeze those memorable events of youthful discovery that many reminisce over delightfully. In addition, the realism of the story makes it that much more compelling-all elements of the story are so believable that one never really thinks, "Oh that couldn't happen."
Mia Barron does a fantastic narration of this book. Her tone was perfect for the exuberance, youthfulness, and energy of Nina. Mia captivated Nina with superb precision, however, there was one fault. This reviewer happens to be from the Boston area-where the story takes place. Knowing that the Boston accent can be a bit obnoxious, I can understand doing a flat accent for a dialogue, but the narrator delivers much of the dialogue in an accent resembling the Wisconsin/Minnesota region. Being distinctly familiar with the accent, I did find this a little disrupting. But her skill is not to be underrated-her depiction of a teenager emerging into womanhood is right on key.
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