Bess and Frima

When Bess and Frima—best friends, both nineteen and from the same Jewish background in the Bronx—get summer jobs in upstate hotels near Monticello, NY, in June 1940, they have visions of romance . . . but very different expectations and needs. Frima, who seeks safety in love, finds it with the “boy next door, ” who is also Bess’s brother. Meanwhile, rebellious Beth falls for Vinny, an Italian American, former Catholic, left-wing labor organizer from San Francisco, who would be unacceptable in all ways to her family—which is fine with Bess.

Will their young loves have happy endings? Yes and no, for the shadow of world war is growing, and Bess and Frima must grow up fast. As their love lives entangle with war, ambitions, religion, family, and politics—as well as all kinds of conventional expectations—they face challenges they’ve never before dreamed of in their struggles for personal and creative growth.