Elizabeth Harlan grew up and went to high school and college in New York City, where her story is set. She has written young adult novels and a lit- erary biography for adult readers. Her recurring theme is mother/daughter relationships. Having mothered two children and grandmothered four grandchildren, she still identifies most powerfully with young girls struggling to grow out from under the oppressive yolk of misguided mothering. She lives on the East End of Long Island and on a barrier island off the West Coast of Florida.