THE WRITING ROOM

A privileged 18-year-old is forced into adulthood when her rich father cuts her off financially.

Maya Michell’s white, self-made millionaire dad raised his children in luxury in Manhattan—but he kicks each kid out immediately after high school graduation to force them to learn how to earn the good life for themselves. When her turn comes, Maya is prepared to live with friends and work at the library before entering Columbia (college tuition being the one expense her dad will still cover). But Maya struggles to understand her father’s meanness; he refuses to let her keep her copy of her favorite childhood book, Charlotte’s Web. Readers will empathize with Maya’s loneliness and sensibility. Though her doctor mom has returned home to Guatemala to care for Indigenous patients and Maya’s aging grandmother, and her siblings are also far away, Maya doesn’t wallow. She lines up freelance writing gigs and finds community with new neighbors and at a local shared writing space. She also finds a love interest in Jake Canales, the cute, mysterious teen manager of the writing room. When Maya realizes that her dad is supporting a racist, anti-immigrant candidate for governor, she must decide whether to risk the future she’s always counted on by finding the strength to speak out. The subject matter is meaningful and all too relevant, but the story struggles with flat writing and a plotline that lacks propulsion.

A timely coming-of-age story about taking a stand that falters in execution.