A Ticket to Ride: A Novel [Paperback]

In the long, hot Illinois summer of 1973, insecure, motherless Jamie falls under the dangerous spell of her older, more worldly cousin Fawn, who’s come to stay with Jamie and her uncle as penance for committing an “unmentionable act.”

It is a time of awakenings and corruptions, of tragedy and loss, as Jamie slowly discovers the extent to which Fawn will use anything and anyone to further her own ends—and recognizes, perhaps too late, her own complicity in the disaster that takes shape around them.

“A captivating story about a teenager’s struggle to be accepted by her peers. . . .  The story is more than believable—it simply comes alive. The book perfectly captures the free-spirited attitude of the decade and the curiosity of adolescence.”—Tampa Tribune

“McLain compels as she excavates two tragedies.”—Chicago Sun-Times

Paula McLain has put a poets ear to the urgency of adolescence...a strong throb of a first novel.&poet and memoirist McLain compels as she excavates two tragedies.[McLains] writing is gorgeous, and Jamie and Fawn are heartbreakingly real.Filled with mystery and longing, McLain lays bare the raw emotion that guides us all......a haunting coming-of-age story...sun-dazzled prose that hides a cold, foreboding underbelly...gorgeous writing....a vivid portrait of the summer of 73...the relationships it expores are timeless...a genuine literary accomplishment....[A] beautifully written book...deeply felt and engrossing--an immense pleasure to read.Assured and ambitious... the complicated bonds of a makeshift family... lyrical precision. A deft and haunting book.Absorbing, tantalizing, and super-heated as an endless summer day.