Breaking Up

by Norma Klein

While she is visiting her father and stepmother in California, 15-year-old Alison learns her mother is a lesbian.

That summer that Ali and her brother, Martin, left their mother in New York to visit their father in California brought joy and pain. For Ali, it was a time of impossible decisions, of breaking up and getting together, of loss and love. But when her father decided to keep her from returning to her mother, and her best friend couldn't stand to see her falling in love, Ali had to find a way to please everyone at once -- and still be true to the woman she was becoming.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction

207 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

Norma 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.

Reviews

[Kelly]

This was one of the better Klein books I've read in my project, and I think she absolutely nailed what it's like to have a manipulative, gas-lighting father who tries to turn you against your mother. Ali is naive in a way that really feels 15, though she isn't an especially great friend.

Ali's mom, though? She made up for basically every terrible parent in all of the Klein books so far. Bonus for having a girlfriend is pretty great, too.

[Reading with Cats · Rating 4 out of 5]

I truly wanted that shitful father to die a fiery death.

[Audrey Ettinger · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have been rereading Klein’s books on visits to my childhood home. Her female protagonists are realistic in that they think about serious issues, but they are often strangely young and naive considering how sophisticated they are in some ways. Ali is typical in this way — she thinks about her parents’ divorce, her relationship with her best friend, and her mother’s new love with thoughtful insights, but then she is just dippy in many ways. A fun quick read in any case.

Reread in 2024 on a quick trip to Buffalo and brought home. Past me got it just right!

[Lana Del Slay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved that the heroine wasn't especially intelligent -- she was just a girl, a good-looking girl who knew it and wasn't conceited about it. Hate that whoever started this page spoiled the big plot twist; glad I didn't look here before I read this!

[Jens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Out of print. TIA (archive.org) have scans

[Jacquie R · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of my favourite books as a teenager. There is no one like Norma Klein - though Judy Blume comes close.