Three Cousins - by Jessica Levine (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Set during the excitement and tumult of the second wave of feminism and the sexual revolution, this coming-of-age novel about female friendship in the 1970s will appeal to fans of Kristin Hannah's Firefly Lane.

It's 1976, the second wave of feminism is in full swing, and three cousins share an apartment at Yale. Two are seniors; the third is starting graduate school. Each is seeking her own path in both love and work--but all three women, not quite knowing how to use the new freedoms available to them, alternate between supporting and undermining each other in their efforts.

Julia, the most conventional of the three, wants the security of her monogamous relationship with Ben but is attracted to other men. Anna plans on traveling the world to escape her boyfriend and alcoholic mother. Robin, who is bisexual, has various partners as she dreams of open relationships. All fall under the spell of a charismatic musician, Michael, who is too wounded to be available. By the end of a year of experiments and necessary mistakes, the cousins will make crucial decisions that will determine the course of the rest of their lives.

This prequel to Levine's first two critically acclaimed novels, The Geometry of Love and Nothing Forgotten, dramatizes the struggles that women have faced and continue to face while entering adulthood in a world not quite ready to accept them as equals.

Review Quotes

"In Jessica Levine's heartfelt coming-of-age novel Three Cousins, college roommates bond while figuring out who to become and how to love. . . . A historical novel fueled by optimism, Three Cousins is about youthful passions and family loyalty."--Foreword Reviews

". . . terrific journey. Levine renders the obstacles, current events, joys, sorrows, and daily details of the time with a clear eye and a loving heart. A coming-of-age novel that makes the reader eager to know the rest of these characters' lives, Jessica Levine's Three Cousins will keep the reader's light on well into the night for the best possible reasons."--IndieReader

"An absorbing coming-of-age story that takes us on a journey through the love and entanglements of family and friendship. Levine artfully explores relationships and the lives of women, gracefully raising questions about the choices women make and why." --Corie Adjmi, author The Marriage Box and Life and Other Shortcomings

"Take three unforgettable young women on the cusp of adulthood and add a compelling supporting cast, an engrossing plot, and the societal upheaval of the mid-1970s. Put it all in the hands of an author with an artist's eye and a storyteller's heart, and you have Jessica Levine's indelible new novel. Brava!" --Deborah K. Shepherd, author of So Happy Together

About the Author

Jessica Levine is the author of three novels constituting The Cousins Series. Interconnected, they can be read in sequence or as standalones. Three Cousins is the first in the series and a prequel to the others. Both The Geometry of Love and Nothing Forgotten made Booklist's Top 10 Women's Fiction list. She is also the author of Delicate Pursuit: Discretion in Henry James and Edith Wharton. She holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of California at Berkeley, where she was a Mellow Fellow. She has been working as a hypnotherapist since 2005.