Don't Forget to Write: A Novel

In 1960, Marilyn Kleinman is sent to spend the summer with her great-aunt Ada, a Philadelphia matchmaker, after being caught kissing the rabbi's son in front of her congregation. Her parents hope Ada can repair her reputation and secure her future, or risk losing her college prospects. Contrary to expectations, Ada is not the stern elderly woman Marilyn's mother described. She is sharp, direct, and operates by her own rules, driving a Cadillac convertible and wearing platinum-blonde hair and a Hermès scarf. Over the summer, Ada and Marilyn travel to the Jersey shore, where Marilyn assists Ada in identifying potential matches for others. Through her time with Ada, Marilyn discovers she need not accept the life laid out for her. As the school year approaches and her father threatens to disinherit her, Marilyn faces a choice between returning to her familiar life or pursuing an uncertain path of her own.