Vendela Vida

"Teenage Eulabee and her magnetic best friend, Maria Fabiola, own the streets of Sea Cliff, their foggy oceanside San Francisco neighborhood. They know Sea Cliff's homes and beaches, its hidden corners and eccentric characters--as well as the upscale all-girls' school they attend. One day, walking to school with friends, they witness a horrible act--or do they? Eulabee and Maria Fabiola vehemently disagree on what happened, and their rupture is followed...

Yvonne, a recently widowed American mother of two grown children, returns to Datça, Turkey, to relive memories of a happier time, but instead is troubled by her past and finds solace in her friendship with Ahmet, a young local boy.

In a fascinating look at how young women are coming of age in America, Vendela Vida's Girls on the Verge explores a variety of rituals that girls have adapted or created in order to leave their childhoods behind. Vida doesn't just observe the rituals, she actively participates in them, going as far as spending a week at UCLA to experience rush--she emerges a Tri-Delt. She also goes to Miami to learn about the "quince" (the Latin American celebration...

Burt and Verona are a loving couple. Burt has always wanted to marry Verona, but Verona resists, not seeing the point of the institution. Regardless, they are having a baby together and question their potential parenting abilities. They decide to move closer to Burt's parents so they can share the experience with the baby's grandparents. In Verona's sixth month, she and Burt learn that his parents are moving to Belgium the month before the baby is...