When the Great Depression of the 1930's forces the narrator's family to give up their conventional home in a respectable neighborhood and move to a flat on the wrong side of the tracks, for her parents it is a shameful descent into a temporary Hell; for their eleven-year-old daughter, the fall from financial grace drops her into a fascinating place where the Hart family, who rent the other half of the flat, speak candidly about life, love, and sex. The narrator immediately becomes Best Friends with Valentine Hart. The girls are drawn together by a mysterious magnet which they neither question nor doubt. Other than for being the same age and approaching the tremulous threshold between childhood and adolescence, their only common denominator is their love for the movies and their tendency to endow real life with the shining aura that the silver screen gives their romanced-drenched souls. The narrator's mother takes a dim view of the entire Hart family, and repeatedly cautions her not to get too close to them. She may as well have been speaking to the wind. The narrator is delighted when her mother decides it is her duty to use her skill in writing Gregg shorthand to fatten the family coffers and goes to work for a lawyer. With her mother absent all day, the narrator is free to experience the forbidden pleasure of living on the wild side of life. Lacey (Valentine's lively, lusty, beautiful mother) divides society into three categories: "People Just Like Us,"; those who" Wouldn't Say Shit If They Had A Mouthful,"; and the "High-Muckety-Mucks." The narrator is honored to be accepted by the Harts as "People Just Like Us," who along with Lacey include Big Hart whose tough workdays are softened in Lacey's loving arms; Valentine's twin brother, Black, who will commit any sin but never tell a lie, a boy with a tender side which only the narrator discovers when he teaches her about sex in an alleyway; and little Broken, whose twisted body and mixed-up brain is a result of Lacey's foiled attempt to abort him. To the narrator, the difference between her respectable old world and her exciting new one can be summed up quite simply: she had moved out of the world of breasts and into the world of tits. As summer rolls around, Lacey forces Valentine to add to the family's small income by working for a family of former "High Muckety-Mucks," the Greys of Sycamore Lane. Mr. Grey is a handsome, charming man whose angry, bitter wife works in the five-and-dime. While Valentine baby-sits their young son, she and the narrator become aware of Mr. Grey's love affair with his child-like adoring young neighbor whose alcoholic long-distance truck driver beats her when he is home. The two young girls endow the forbidden love with the magical aura they view in their frequent visits to the local movie theatre. In their fierce loyalty and misconception of adult passion, they are blinded to the truth until, too late; they witness the reality of love and hate, betrayal and death, and become innocent co-conspirators in a terrible crime which will haunt them forever.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Store Description

Save up to 90% on your favorite items at BargainBookStores.com! Our 20,000 square foot warehouse in Grand Rapids, Michigan is filled with hundreds of thousands of books and consumer goods, all at the lowest prices! We've been serving internet customers with great deals since 2001. All books ship from Grand Rapids, Michigan. 100% Customer Satisfaction Guaranteed We want to ensure your satisfaction. If you are dissatisfied with your purchase or shopping experience, we would like to hear from you. Please contact us by email: cs@bargainbookstores.com. Please be sure to include your contact information and order number. We do not charge a restocking fee for returns. Your Privacy BargainBookStores.com does not provide, sell or market customer information to other businesses or organizations.

Visit Seller's Storefront

Seller's business information

BargainBookStores
3423 Lousma Dr SE, Grand Rapids, MI, 49548, U.S.A.

Sale & Shipping Terms

Terms of Sale

BargainBookStores guarantees 100% Customer Satisfaction. We ship worldwide and offer a variety of shipping methods to meet your needs. Please place your order directly via ABEBooks.com. We accept payment by MasterCard and Visa. For more information, contact us by email at cs@bargainbookstores.com. Full contact info is below:

BargainBookStores.com LLC
3423 Lousma Dr SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49548

Right of withdrawal

If you are a consumer you can withdraw from the contract in accordance with the following. Consumer means any natural person who is acting for purposes which are outside his trade, business, craft or profession.

Information regarding the right of withdrawal

Statutory right to withdraw

You have the right to withdraw from this contract within 14 days without giving any reason.

The withdrawal period will expire after 14 days from the day on which you acquire, or a third party other than the carrier and indicated by you acquires, physical possession of the last good or the last lot or piece.

To exercise the right of withdrawal, electronically fill in and submit a clear statement on our website, under "My Purchases" in "My Account". We will communicate to you an acknowledgement of receipt of such a withdrawal on a durable medium (e.g. by e-mail) without delay.

To meet the withdrawal deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your exercise of the right of withdrawal before the withdrawal period has expired.

Effects of withdrawal

If you withdraw from this contract, we will reimburse to you all payments received from you, including the costs of delivery (except for the supplementary costs arising if you chose a type of delivery other than the least expensive type of standard delivery offered by us).

We may make a deduction from the reimbursement for loss in value of any goods supplied, if the loss is the result of unnecessary handling by you.

We will make the reimbursement without undue delay, and not later than 14 days after the day on which we are informed about your decision to withdraw from this contract.

We will make the reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of such reimbursement.

We may withhold reimbursement until we have received the goods back, or you have supplied evidence of having sent back the goods, whichever is the earliest.

You shall send back the goods or hand them over to BargainBookStores, Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S.A., without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days from the day on which you communicate your withdrawal from this contract to us. The deadline is met if you send back the goods before the period of 14 days has expired. You will have to bear the direct cost of returning the goods. You are only liable for any diminished value of the goods resulting from the handling other than what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods.

Exceptions to the right of withdrawal

The right of withdrawal does not apply to:

The delivery of newspapers, journals or magazines with the exception of subscription contracts; and
The supply of digital content which is not supplied on a tangible medium (e.g. on a CD or DVD) if you accepted when you placed your order that we could start to deliver it, and that you could not withdraw once delivery had started.

Shipping Terms

We will ship to all domestic and most international destinations.

Please note: Shipping times are estimated and are not guaranteed by BargainBookStores.

Shipping rates within U.S.A.

Shipping rates within U.S.A.
Order quantity	4 to 10 business days	4 to 9 business days
First item	� 0.00	� 29.17

Delivery times are set by sellers and vary by carrier and location. Orders passing through Customs may face delays and buyers are responsible for any associated duties or fees. Sellers may contact you regarding additional charges to cover any increased costs to ship your items.