Three Cousins

Set during the excitement and tumult of the second wave of feminism and the sexual revolution, this coming-of-age novel about female friendship in the 1970s will appeal to fans of Kristin Hannah’s Firefly Lane.

It’s 1976, the second wave of feminism is in full swing, and three cousins share an apartment at Yale. Two are seniors; the third is starting graduate school. Each is seeking her own path in both love and work--but all three women, not quite knowing how to use the new freedoms available to them, alternate between supporting and undermining each other in their efforts.

Julia, the most conventional of the three, wants the security of her monogamous relationship with Ben but is attracted to other men. Anna plans on traveling the world to escape her boyfriend and alcoholic mother. Robin, who is bisexual, has various partners as she dreams of open relationships. All fall under the spell of a charismatic musician, Michael, who is too wounded to be available. By the end of a year of experiments and necessary mistakes, the cousins will make crucial decisions that will determine the course of the rest of their lives.

This prequel to Levine’s first two critically acclaimed novels, The Geometry of Love and Nothing Forgotten, dramatizes the struggles that women have faced and continue to face while entering adulthood in a world not quite ready to accept them as equals.

Jessica Levine is the author of Nothing Forgotten, which received the Next Generation Indie Award, and The Geometry of Love, a Top 10 Women’s Fiction Title in the American Library Association’s Booklist. Her essays, short stories, and poetry have appeared in publications including The Southern Review and The Huffington Post, and she holds a PhD in English literature. She has been a practicing hypnotherapist for twenty years, helping clients with issues including anxiety, trauma, and physical pain. In her spare time, she enjoys nature and bird photography. Jessica lives in Berkeley, California.