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Now That I Know
Nina has her life pretty well organized. Sure her parents are divorced, but spending half a week with each of them keeps her from getting bored with either one. Things seem to be falling into place at school too, where Nina has a shot at becoming editor of the school paper. And if her best friend, Dara, wouldn't nag so much about Nina's uneventful social life, she just might find her way to a date on Saturday night.
But all of Nina's well-thought-out-plans don't have room for the changes her parents spring on her in an attempt to set their own lives in order.
Struggling to right her world turned upside down, Nina must step away from her parents to see them as they are. Can she get past her own anger and confusion and come to terms with the truth?
But all of Nina's well-thought-out-plans don't have room for the changes her parents spring on her in an attempt to set their own lives in order.
Struggling to right her world turned upside down, Nina must step away from her parents to see them as they are. Can she get past her own anger and confusion and come to terms with the truth?
- GenresYoung AdultFiction
165 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 1988
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 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 3, 2013
A few years ago I reread a handful of my old favorite Norma Klein books, but the ones I reread were the ones I adored, the ones I'd read dozens of times as a teenager. I have a whole shelf of Klein books though, and not all of them had equal impact, the ones on the younger end of Klein's protagonists, I didn't reread a ton. Probably because I aged out of them more quickly. But I thought I'd rectify it now.
It'a unusual to reread a book that wasn't beloved and much-read when I was younger. Those books are like old friends, and I sometimes find I have whole sentences and passages memorized. But in Now That I Know, instead I have a sense of vague familiarity, and I figured out the plot twist pretty much right away. Is that because as an adult it's so much easier to spot, or because the plot is stored somewhere in the deep recesses of my brain and I actually remember the story, if subconsciously? There's no way to know of course.
Nina is thirteen, a 9th grader in New York City whose parents have joint custody so she spends half the week with each. She's a bit worried about her shy, bitter mother being all alone. After all her father has his best friend Greg to hang out with. Greg, who does all the cooking, including breakfast, and always seems to be at their house. Hmmm. I wonder if, reading this book when I was fourteen, I clued in to the real relationship before it came out in the open, but now, it was very obvious to me from about p. 7. Not that that's bad - it's well set up so readers won't feel blindsided by it. I just wonder if perhaps, as a young teen, I was a bit obtuse and also more concerned with Nina becoming the editor of the school paper and there being maybe an interesting boy in her class.
One of Norma Klein's hallmarks is her very three-dimensional, flawed characters, and she doesn't disappoint in Now That I Know. Neither of her parents deal with their situations perfectly (oh, and they're younger than me - when did that happen!?), her best friend is frustrating, and Nina herself is quite flawed, hiding from situations she doesn't like and trying her best not to deal with them head-on. Teens can really identify with these well-rounded and very human characters. It's a tiny bit dated, but not overly (the book's jacket more than anything - denim with denim!) There's nothing remotely inappropriate, just a tiny bit of language and an acknowledgement that sex exists. I'm so glad I gave it another read!
It'a unusual to reread a book that wasn't beloved and much-read when I was younger. Those books are like old friends, and I sometimes find I have whole sentences and passages memorized. But in Now That I Know, instead I have a sense of vague familiarity, and I figured out the plot twist pretty much right away. Is that because as an adult it's so much easier to spot, or because the plot is stored somewhere in the deep recesses of my brain and I actually remember the story, if subconsciously? There's no way to know of course.
Nina is thirteen, a 9th grader in New York City whose parents have joint custody so she spends half the week with each. She's a bit worried about her shy, bitter mother being all alone. After all her father has his best friend Greg to hang out with. Greg, who does all the cooking, including breakfast, and always seems to be at their house. Hmmm. I wonder if, reading this book when I was fourteen, I clued in to the real relationship before it came out in the open, but now, it was very obvious to me from about p. 7. Not that that's bad - it's well set up so readers won't feel blindsided by it. I just wonder if perhaps, as a young teen, I was a bit obtuse and also more concerned with Nina becoming the editor of the school paper and there being maybe an interesting boy in her class.
One of Norma Klein's hallmarks is her very three-dimensional, flawed characters, and she doesn't disappoint in Now That I Know. Neither of her parents deal with their situations perfectly (oh, and they're younger than me - when did that happen!?), her best friend is frustrating, and Nina herself is quite flawed, hiding from situations she doesn't like and trying her best not to deal with them head-on. Teens can really identify with these well-rounded and very human characters. It's a tiny bit dated, but not overly (the book's jacket more than anything - denim with denim!) There's nothing remotely inappropriate, just a tiny bit of language and an acknowledgement that sex exists. I'm so glad I gave it another read!
May 9, 2016
Thirteen-year-old Nina lives in NYC in the 1980s and splits her time between her mom's and dad's. Her best friend is boy crazy while she feels like she'll never be ready for sex. Then she finds out that her dad's best friend Greg is actually his partner. Nice to have an 80s story in which it's not that the dad is gay that's the problem, the problem is that he moves his boyfriend in with no warning.
May 28, 2016
I feel the same way about this book that I did about Tiger Eyes. Super authentic and relatable, and I wish more current YA were written this way.
December 3, 2024
I’ve been a lover of Norma Klein since 1987, and this was my first time reading her book. It was a complex look at family dynamics in the late 1980s. I love that Klein really paints a nuanced portrait of a 13- —almost 14-year-old girl dealing with the fallout of her parents’ recent divorce.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews