Nina: Adolescence

by Amy Hassinger

Book Overview

At the center of an attic studio littered with paints and portraits stands fifteen-year-old Nina, nude. A canvas separates her from her mother, who perches on a stool, paintbrush in hand. In a desperate attempt to coax her mother out of her emotional seclusion, Nina has offered herself up as a model. The painting, Nina: Adolescence, will mark her mother's triumphant return to the Boston art world and form the centerpiece of a gallery show. But the...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0425197204
• ISBN13: 9780425197202
• Release Date: May 2004
• Publisher: Blue Hen Books
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

a painterly work

Remember when your English teacher told you that the mark of a really good piece of writing was when the language was so masterfully employed as to be utterly beautiful and at the same time completely transparent, throwing the story into hyper-real relief without calling attention to itself? Your teacher was referring to Nina: Adolescence.

you have to listen to his audiobook- ITS GREAT!

I could not stop listening to this book! any audio book fan would enjoy this production. Mia Barron (the narrator)does an excellent job--especially with the interaction between the two teenage girls- Nina & her friend Riassa. It will remind you of your teenage years!Great author, great story, even better on tape!(aren't they always though!)

An exceptional novel.

This novel deals beautifully with a fascinating and challenging subject - the female teenage years. At times the writing in 'Nina: Adolescence' transports me into Nina's very thoughts and circumstances. Amazing. The writing has a wonderful pace and lightness of touch. Don't miss out.

an absolute MUST read!!!!

Adolescence is hard enough--without your mother documenting every physical change you undergo, let alone naming you the nude subject of her art. This is just what Nina, the protagonist of Amy Hassinger's novel, Nina:Adolescence, must endure after her four-year-old brother, Dylan, suddenly drowns one afternoon in the pond behind their suburban-Boston home. Depressed and lonely after her son's death, Nina's mother finds refuge in her art, painting nude portraits of Nina and devoting her entire self to capturing the changes in her daughter: the rounding thighs, budding breasts, curving hip bones. Meanwhile, Nina is becoming more aware of her own sexuality, abetted by a cast of characters including Raissa, a friend from dance class, and her mother's old friend, Leo, an art critic with dubious intentions. A dancer, both conscious of her body and uncomfortable with her burgeoning sexuality, Nina must publicly deal with these changes as her mother wins praise for her haunting portraits.In careful, exact prose, Amy Hassinger eloquently captures the delicacy of adolescence pulls off a compelling coming of age novel. What distinguishes this work is the humanity with which Hassinger writes--the way she understands and nurtures her characters. Instead of exploiting Dylan's death as a less polished writer might, Hassinger organically evokes the memory of his drowning as it was: quick, sudden, and still confusing after four years; his memory haunts the family like the portraits do all those who look upon them. This is an excellent book by an author whose voice I would follow anywhere. Nina is a true piece of literary fiction that explores the themes of growing up, love, and family that are relevant to us all. I am an avid reader and this is one of the best books I have read in a LONG time. Do yourself a favor and buy this book TODAY!