SAM

“What stays with her is the trying. Not the moment she pulled up, but all the hours falling.”
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This moving gem of a novel begins with Sam as a seven year old child, hurt and confused by her father’s frequent absences, frustrated by all of the rules her mother and her school impose on her. During the story, which follows Sam to her late teens, she discovers her love of climbing, unlocking her confidence, ambition and connection to her dad. But it also leads Sam to unexpected feelings for her coach, and becomes a complicated refuge for her to hide from the challenges in her home life. Ultimately, climbing offers Sam a bridge from girlhood to womanhood, letting go of heartache while staying true to the person she hopes to become.
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With a wholly satisfying ending and a genuinely unique narrative voice, Sam is a coming of age story that reads like a new classic. The book perfectly captures the way conflicting emotions are magnified for teenage girls - love/loss, connection/loneliness, recklessness/responsibility - and the desire to figure things out independently, while feeling lost and confused at the same time. While I was deeply invested in how things would turn out for Sam, the novel also features a cast of compelling supporting characters who, with just a few words or interactions, felt as real as Sam herself. A truly beautiful story that reminded me of the best teenage novels from my own growing up years, I couldn’t put this book down.
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Of all the food references in this story, I most enjoyed the tender ice cream scenes with Sam and her dad. But January is just too cold for me to get excited about photographing ice cream (!!) so I tried to think of a treat that could look girlish but with a bit of an edge. These retro pop cupcakes in the cover’s colors came to mind, and I added some little fondant charms and sparkles for an extra bit of Sam’s dad’s magic. (For my next post I need to make something healthy - there’s way too much sugar in my kitchen right now!)