Sam

Chapter 1

There is a girl, and her name is Sam.

She has a mother named Courtney and a dad who is sort of around, sort of not. He lives ten minutes away, but he is not always home. Courtney says that s the whole point.

What is? Sam asks.

He s never anywhere.

Yes, he is. He s somewhere.

Very funny, Courtney says.

Sam is seven and she never stops. She never helps either. Courtney is exhausted all the time but it s not just Sam. It s Noah!

Noah is two and he has a teddy named Bill. He got a plastic ark for his birthday, but he only has one lion and one zebra left. You can t teach Noah. You can t even scare him. He thinks no is his name. Sam climbs up inside the doorjambs to get away from him.

If you want to know how, just take off your shoes. And socks! You have to be barefoot.

Stand in the doorway to the kitchen and spread your feet as far apart as they can go.

Wedge your feet into the frame.

Inch one foot up. Then the other.

Inch up some more.

Stop, or you ll bang your head! Just stay there. Brace your feet against the wood.

Courtney says, You know what, Sam? This is getting old, because Sam likes to stay up there so long. It is not cute.

The day her dad comes over, Sam tackles him. Where were you? Are you back? When did you get back? Before he can answer, she wedges herself into the doorframe.

Hey, monkey, her dad says. When did you learn to do that?

Courtney frowns. A long time ago.

He just looks up at Sam. Ready?

Yes!

Okay, let s go!

Sam jumps down on him. Where?

I don t know! He s teasing, but she doesn t care. He s a jet. He s a plane. He s a parachute. He holds Sam by the heels, and pennies start falling from her clothes. She is raining pennies that were never there before but that s what happens with her dad.

Stop that! says Courtney. Come on. Mitchell.

Noah lifts his arms, even though Mitchell is not his dad, and calls out, Me!

Mitchell. Stop!

Sam is

Allegra Goodman is the author of five novels, two short story collections, and a novel for young readers. Her fiction has appeared in The New Yorker and elsewhere, and has been anthologized in The O. Henry Awards and Best American Short Stories. She lives with her family in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Allegra Goodman has written a wonderful coming-of-age story. In Sam, the heights our heroine reaches are not so dizzying, but that she ascends at all is a reason to cheer. The Wall Street Journal

Sam is original, full of heart, and makes you think and feel. A coming-of-age tale for all ages. Good Morning America

A sensitive portrait of life lived along the poverty line in modern-day America. Allegra Goodman offers a . . . sympathetic reflection on the struggles of a girl s life. Anyone who has ever been the focus of a child s impossibly inflated regard will feel alternately charmed and gutted by [Sam]. Ron Charles, The Washington Post

An irresistible coming-of-age portrait . . . a profound and gorgeously written gem about the tough, tender route Sam must navigate grappling with friendships, love, insecurities and burgeoning womanhood to chart her own course. People

Goodman does a marvelous job of depicting this world of struggle and sacrifice, exhaustion and addiction, with neither condescension nor exaggeration. I admired Goodman s empathy, wisdom, and commitment to telling the story of one ostensibly simple but ultimately meaningful life. Priscilla Gilman, The Boston Globe

Sam is a novel for anyone who's witnessed a kid grow up, felt nostalgic, and yearned to watch the process all over again. Sam captures that unique magic of human development through the story of one steadfast girl. Minneapolis Star Tribune

What seems at first to be a simple coming-of-age story deepens under its own weight and shows itself to be a beautiful meditation on all the ways we love and fail each other. Ann Napolitano, New York Times bestselling author of Dear Edward

Sam is a deeply wise and empathetic portrait of this unforgettable girl, making her way into this tricky world and into the reader s life.