Caitlin Flanagan

Divorce in a young-adult novel means what being orphaned meant in a fairy tale: vulnerability, danger, unwanted independence. ”

In many respects a teenage girl's home is more important to her than at any time since she was a small child. She also needs emotional support and protection from the most corrosive cultural forces that seek to exploit her when she is least able to resist. ”

My mother was very involved with Cesar Chavez's work on behalf of the migrant farm workers in California. ”

I come from an immigrant culture. I'm only a couple of generations away from having been a servant girl myself. ”