Sam

 Allegra Goodman takes this plot in a different direction for the new novel, Sam.  This novel is about family similar to her previous work, but this time the topic of religion does not play a major role. 

This is the coming of age story of Sam, a girl living in a very dysfunctional family situation and how she finds herself and makes a success of her life.  We meet Sam when she is seven, living with her mother, Courtney, a hairdresser and her half brother, Noah who is two.  They are living in Beverly, MA in a small cottage on the property of Noah.s father's parents.  When the relationship between Courtney and Jack, Noah's volatile father goes wrong, Courtney moves the children out to an apartment in town.  She takes on a second job and tries hard to impress on Sam how important success in school is for her future.

Sam's father, Mitchell, is a dreamer, making his living as a magician, juggler and poet.  He is in and out of Sam's life over the years, never able to really settle down and be successful.  He introduces Sam to wall climbing and that becomes her saving experience.  She becomes involved in rock climbing both in the indoor gym and out in the boulder filled public park, Red Rocks, in Gloucester.  The rock climbing is a beautiful way to watch Sam grow from a child lost between the cracks to a young woman who can look at the rock formation and figure out the way to use each stepping stone on her way to the top.

Though she falls off the wall aa few times in the end she finds the footholds that take her to the pinnacle.

We watch her struggle through the relationship with her mother, her father and learning about love.  her relationship with a brother who has behavior and learning issues. We are routing for Sam all the way through the book.