Modern Girls by Jennifer S. Brown is about some Jewish immigrant families in New York during the great depression. The story is told from alternating views of Rosa, the mother, Dottie, her daughter who finds herself in a predicament. Both mother and daughter get pregnant. Rosa is 42 years old and Dottie isn't married, but has been seeing Abe for three years, waiting for him to save up enough money to rent their own place when they get married. Abe is a virtuous Jew and Dottie knows the baby is not his, but a handsome, wealthy, playboy journalist named Willie Klein is the father. Gossip is spreading throughout her neighborhood, her mother had saved up money for her to go to college, and Dottie is desperate to get Abe to think the baby is his. She really wants to keep the baby, but her mother has made an appointment to have it "taken care of." Will she be able to have her happily ever after ending with Abe? Will she get the abortion? Will she end up marrying Willie? How will Rosa be able to help her daughter?
This book kept my interest, and I did like Dottie in spite of her big mistake. I also liked her mother although she had some secrets of her own! I also enjoyed Dottie's brothers and thought Willie and Abe were interesting characters. I liked how they were pretty much opposites and yet Dottie liked them both. I would have liked more of the story as it has an open-ended ending. I think this would make a good book club read since there's much that could be discussed.
(Karen's review, 4 stars)
Teaser from page 21:
Abe would work at the store during the day. Ma would watch the kids for a few hours, and I'd continue at the insurance company. The picture was dreamy and I smiled before remembering I had botched it all up.
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