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The Queen of What Ifs
The queen of What Ifs
221 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published April 12, 1982
34 people want to read
About the author
Norma Klein
70 books112 followersNorma Klein was born in New York City and graduated cum laude and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa from Barnard College with a degree in Russian. She later received her master's degree in Slavic languages from Columbia University.
Ms. Klein began publishing short stories while attending Barnard and since then she had written novels for readers of all ages. The author got her ideas from everyday life and advised would-be writers to do the same -- to write about their experiences or things they really care about.
Ms. Klein died in 1989.
Ms. Klein began publishing short stories while attending Barnard and since then she had written novels for readers of all ages. The author got her ideas from everyday life and advised would-be writers to do the same -- to write about their experiences or things they really care about.
Ms. Klein died in 1989.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 14, 2016
This is not a story of first love, as the blurb on the back would have us believe. This is the story of a fourteen-year-old-girl whose parents are living apart for the summer. Her father may or may not be having an affair. Her mother feels frustrated and not fully realized because she can't get a job, and she's "only" raised children. Her older sister is back from her first year in college, and her older brother is the only one she can really talk to.
These are young parents in the 80s in New York, with kids who are growing up and observing their struggles.
These are young parents in the 80s in New York, with kids who are growing up and observing their struggles.
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February 9, 2013Klein novel that I didn't give as much attention to at the time, because it was on the younger side. I am so glad I'm rereading all of these!
Robin is fifteen and summer is usually great but not this year. Her best friend is abroad, her mother is away all the time taking classes in the city, and her father is living in a friend's apartment in the city, to "finish his novel," but Robin thinks her parents, who have been fighting nonstop recently, are heading for a divorce. Luckily she has her older brother Lowell and her older sister Vanessa to lean on, as their once idyllic family is looking more and more like it might be just another statistic in the early 1980s. Her mother didn't work after college (and didn't finish college) and while she had done art all along, she didn't pursue it as a profession, and is terribly worried that she won't find work if she does end up a single mom, but is also feeling unfulfilled and like she gave up a lot for her husband. Meanwhile he seems to be hanging out a lot with a divorcee from his office who is rather nightmarish and making Robin just feel terrible.
Yes, there is a tiny romantic story for Robin, the son of a family friend, Mason, who kisses her one night after Vanessa throws a party and plays tennis with her on another day, but it's definitely a distraction, not at all the focus of the book. The focus is Robin's family. She adores her quirky and opinionated grandmother, is very close to Lowell, and idolizes Vanessa a bit (which is funny because I probably would have idolized Vanessa too at that age - she's in college, she's creative,she's a free spirit - but as an adult I can see how Vanessa thinks she's a free spirit but is in fact a stereotype as well, and she's got very strong opinions about things she knows nothing about.) Robin is very sweet. She's a little naive but not annoyingly so. She worries but isn't anxiety-riddled. She's responsible and kind and in some ways, very freshingly ordinary. I think I would have been friends with her. In fact, I truly wished I could have spent more time with her.
As with all Norma Klein novels, this book does acknowledge the existence of sex, but our main character only kisses a boy. She does wonder about "doing it" and has a friend who does it, and her sister and her grandmother are both living with their boyfriends, but there's nothing the least bit explicit. There is also one instance of marijuana use. I'm still going to recommend it highly for preteens. Especially once with parents whose marriages are in trouble. Robin really does cover all of the "what ifs" involved in divorce and remarriage, even if in the end not all of them play out.
Robin is fifteen and summer is usually great but not this year. Her best friend is abroad, her mother is away all the time taking classes in the city, and her father is living in a friend's apartment in the city, to "finish his novel," but Robin thinks her parents, who have been fighting nonstop recently, are heading for a divorce. Luckily she has her older brother Lowell and her older sister Vanessa to lean on, as their once idyllic family is looking more and more like it might be just another statistic in the early 1980s. Her mother didn't work after college (and didn't finish college) and while she had done art all along, she didn't pursue it as a profession, and is terribly worried that she won't find work if she does end up a single mom, but is also feeling unfulfilled and like she gave up a lot for her husband. Meanwhile he seems to be hanging out a lot with a divorcee from his office who is rather nightmarish and making Robin just feel terrible.
Yes, there is a tiny romantic story for Robin, the son of a family friend, Mason, who kisses her one night after Vanessa throws a party and plays tennis with her on another day, but it's definitely a distraction, not at all the focus of the book. The focus is Robin's family. She adores her quirky and opinionated grandmother, is very close to Lowell, and idolizes Vanessa a bit (which is funny because I probably would have idolized Vanessa too at that age - she's in college, she's creative,she's a free spirit - but as an adult I can see how Vanessa thinks she's a free spirit but is in fact a stereotype as well, and she's got very strong opinions about things she knows nothing about.) Robin is very sweet. She's a little naive but not annoyingly so. She worries but isn't anxiety-riddled. She's responsible and kind and in some ways, very freshingly ordinary. I think I would have been friends with her. In fact, I truly wished I could have spent more time with her.
As with all Norma Klein novels, this book does acknowledge the existence of sex, but our main character only kisses a boy. She does wonder about "doing it" and has a friend who does it, and her sister and her grandmother are both living with their boyfriends, but there's nothing the least bit explicit. There is also one instance of marijuana use. I'm still going to recommend it highly for preteens. Especially once with parents whose marriages are in trouble. Robin really does cover all of the "what ifs" involved in divorce and remarriage, even if in the end not all of them play out.
March 23, 2025
I usually love and have re-read my Norma Klein copies many times, but I had forgotten this one. Now I see why - it just wasn't as interesting. The 15 year old Robin's view into her parents' marriage is somewhat interesting. Dad is away for the summer to "finish his novel" but Robin, close sibling Lowell, and more older Vanessa, as well as mom, are all confident that he's also sleeping with a co-worker, which turns out to be true. Would otherwise loving dad REALLY bring lover plus her daughter the same age as Robin (Nina) to Vanessa's first public poetry reading, upsetting mom enough that she doesn't attend, nor does Lowell? Really? And then with one sleepover mom and dad are back together. Feisty, tennis playing Grandma with live-in lover (who is bought an expensive cello bow as a birthday present with cellist Robin's help - that was a sweet scene) is also fun. Oh, and Vanessa is boinking her professor Steve, who seems like a nice guy except for this misconduct. And Vanessa's BFF gets married while still in college. Maybe it's every 70s trope in one book? Anyway, not one that I will want to re-read again, I think!
September 13, 2018
Poor Robin...her father was a selfish prick.
June 10, 2023
Sweet, complex, & interesting characters. The ending was vague which I loved
May 22, 2011
I read this as a young girl, and I loved it. Norma Klein was one of my most favorite authors. I love her books!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews