instantly contagious deliciously told story filled with wonderful rich accurate energetic prosecar times when Claire starts out on her own for the first time in her 23 years of life she trades a wide open spaces in New Mexico for the urban anarchy of New York City a trade that nobody sometimes not even clearer so she used to understand. she struggles to come to terms of her own self professed Independence but still it isn't until she is befriended by her next door neighbor Jade she truly begins to feel the possibilities. dazzling beautiful mysterious cosmetology Jade personifies all the qualities Claire has come to New York to find: she lives according to her own desires no matter how unconventional or in predictable they may be overnight she becomes first Claire's guide and then something far more intimate. is her life becomes increasingly entwined with Jade's Claire is continually challenged to invent herself and she is finally forced to make choices that will alter the course for life forever. with skill sensuality wisdom some girls grips the reader from the start and barks on a Stanley radical journey into the erratic possibilities of friendship and the human potential of self-definition. sexual and dazzling San Francisco chronicle lovely and passionate pros and urban love song New York Times book review