Laura Huntt Foti

The Cusp of Everything is the first novel with a soundtrack, a time-travel back to Westchester County, New York on the eve of America’s Bicentennial. More than 200 songs run through the text, their titles underlined, setting a mood or providing context.. From “classic rock” before it was classic and “Old School” when it was still new, to Top 40 and the early days of disco, with a special helping of Diana Ross and the Supremes, Cusp’s music runs the gamut of what was in the air at the time. Listen along at the companion website. Cusp is about being on the threshold of adulthood, hoping for “real life” to start, fervently anticipating growing up and moving on. The term also refers to the massive societal shifts of the 1970s, when taboos were lifted on premarital sex, birth control, abortion, divorce, homosexuality and interracial relationships. Karen Walsh dreams that moving to the big city and finding love will solve all her problems. After a failed summer romance, commuting to classes feels like a lonely extension of high school, but without the familiar faces. Only her deepening friendship with Mark Cassone provides a bright spot. Together they plan their escape from the suburbs, aching for a new and rewarding life in Manhattan.