Domestic Arrangements

by Norma Klein

Book Overview

Originally published in 1982, Domestic Arrangements is the story of a fourteen-year-old New York teen named Tatiana, an unintentional ing nue who becomes notorious for filming a nude scene for a major movie. Tatiana's newfound fame--which includes interviews, magazine covers, and publicists--is set against the backdrop of an increasingly adult personal life, as her parents file for divorce, her sister becomes increasingly jealous of her sibling's success, and she must choose between her teenage boyfriend and new, older loves. A stunning example of Norma Klein's fearless take on the complexities of adolescence, Domestic Arrangements is an indelible portrait of a girl on the cusp of adulthood, learning to balance the challenges of life in the spotlight with love, family, and friendship. This edition features a brand new introduction by Norma's long-time friend, renowned children's author Judy Blume.

Norma Klein was best known for young adult works that dealt with family problems, childhood and adolescent sexuality, as well as social issues like racism, sexism, and contraception. Her first novel, Mom, the Wolf Man and Me (1972), was about the daughter of an unmarried, sexually active woman. Her subsequent works included Sunshine, It's Okay If You Don't Love Me, Breaking Up, and Family Secrets. Because of their subject matter, many of her books sparked considerable controversy, and a 1986 American Library Association survey found that nine of her novels had been removed from libraries. In an interview that same year with the New York Times, Klein said: "I'm not a rebel, trying to stir things up just to be provocative. I'm doing it because I feel like writing about real life." She died in 1989 at the age of fifty.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1939601193
• ISBN13: 9781939601193
• Release Date: September 2014
• Publisher: Lizzie Skurnick Books
• Length: 300 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.0" x 8.9"
• Age Range: 12 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 7 and higher

Customer Reviews

Everything in it

I remember reading this in 8th grade - i loved it so much i photocopied it from the library. The nice thing about this book is that although Tatiana was so different from me or from any of my friends, I could totally identify with what she was feeling - especially her utter confusion in the grown-up world. Though this isn't a suspensenovel, I was surprised every page, by the delicate and unique emotions of the characters - they were astounded by common things and calm during turbulent events - yet you could understand them. The book brought different blends of emotions to the world of teenage literature. Very much reccomended

Teen Sex and Other Things...

In reading her two novels "Domestic Arrangements" and "Give Me One Good Reason" I found Klein to be a generally talented writer. She writes in a style that minimizes drama--perhaps even making it seem as if her characters lack an ability to possess deeper emotions. Her characters' lives are not too unusually different from an average Jane Doe's--at least it shouldn't make that much of a difference (which is what I suspect the author is trying to say). Within the context of these slightly unusual situations--a single woman planning a pregnancy which will systematically seclude the bisexual father from the baby's life ("Give me...") and a fourteen year old girl baring it for a movie roll and having sex with her parents' (at least her mom's) blessing ("Domestic...")--Klein tries to portray the reality of her characters. Amidst these complications, her characters are struggling with your more normal problems: falling in love, growing up, coming to terms with your parent's divorce, etc. With Klein's low-key almost nonchalant style of writing, it's not too difficult to relate to the characters or their situations. In her own way, she succeed in delivering the message that strange things happen to normal people-- and unfortunate things, to normal families.