Domestic Arrangements

Domestic Arrangements is the story of fourteen-year-old Tatiana (nicknamed Rusty, for her long red hair), an unintentional ingénue who becomes notorious for filming a nude scene in a major movie. Rusty’s increasing fame—which climaxes with an appearance on the cover of People magazine—dovetails with her increasingly adult personal life, which includes a budding sexual relationship with her boyfriend, an older sister jealous of her looks, and her parents troubled marriage. Ultimately, Rusty must decide if fame—and sex—are all they’re cracked up to be.

A stunning example of Norma Klein’s fearless take on the complexities of adolescence, the new edition of this sexually frank novel features a brand new introduction by Norma’s longtime friend, renowned children’s author Judy Blume.

Norma Klein was best known for young adult works that dealt with family problems, childhood and adolescent sexuality, as well as social issues like racism, sexism, and contraception. Her first novel, Mom, the Wolf Man and Me (1972), was about the daughter of an unmarried, sexually active woman. Her subsequent works included Sunshine, It’s Okay If You Don’t Love Me, Breaking Up, and Family Secrets. Because of their subject matter, many of her books sparked considerable controversy, and a 1986 American Library Association survey found that nine of her novels had been removed from libraries. In an interview that same year with the New York Times, Klein said: “I’m not a rebel, trying to stir things up just to be provocative. I’m doing it because I feel like writing about real life.” She died in 1989 at the age of fifty.