Hazel Says No

I so appreciated this striking and oh-so-discussable debut novel. After Hazel Blum’s professor father accepts a tenured position at a college in small town Maine, the family relocates from Brooklyn and spends the summer adjusting to their new community. Everything goes well until the first day of Hazel’s senior year when the unthinkable happens: the beloved high school principal propositions her and she turns him down. He, of course, denies her claim and tries to turn it back on her—with long-lasting impacts that domino through the whole town, and beyond. Told through each family member’s point of view, Gross explores identity, belonging, and sexual harassment in this arresting coming-of-age tale.