Suzie Holtz, tHe Heroine of this worldly and vivid novel, is the daughter of neurotic east european
Holocaust survivors who unsuccessfully
attempt to make a life in israel before immigrating to the
united States just as she is riding on the cusp of sexual,
emotional, and physical maturity. A collision between the parents’ old-world views and those of a daughter with a hunger for autonomy and identification with American
peers inevitably follows, creating a family crisis both familiar
and tragic.
But Suzie is dealt a further and utterly unexpected blow: She gradually
develops secondary male characteristics, for which she lacks coping mechanisms
and that soon affect every facet of her life. they rapidly destroy
her self-esteem, and become the defining force in all her relationships
