"How Alex is able to resolve her unhealthy attachment to Paula and how her counselor, Erica, is able to guide her through this troubling experience is the heart of the story."
"Levine effectively weaves her cautionary tale by drawing from her years as a therapist dealing with “trauma stories.” Her deep understanding of “grooming” behavior—the process by which an abuser leads a victim into a dependent relationship—helps her to create a character that jumps off the page. Overall, this is an important addition to the discussion of abuse prevention and detection.
An infuriating, frightening, and compassionate story of abuse."
5 Stars - "Well-written, realistic and deeply intricate."
When Laurie B. Levine heard that a teacher in her hometown of Maplewood had been charged with sexual misconduct with several male students, her first reaction was to make sure her teenage son, who was in the class, was okay. Levine, a family therapist, was also encouraged to revisit the novel she had started years before, about a trauma bond between a student and female teacher....
Alexandra Geller, a secular teenager growing up in suburban Connecticut, finds sanctuary at her fictional Jewish camp in the Poconos, a place where she feels nurtured, where she isn’t the girl whose mother died when she was nine, where the mildly abusive relationship she has with a female teacher recedes from her life. (Click link to continue reading the article.)
MAPLEWOOD, NJ — The teenage years can be difficult enough without the added distress that comes when injurious adults prey upon children. Maplewood resident and therapist Laurie Levine explores the trauma that can result from one form of inappropriate relationship between an adult and teenager in her debut novel, “Now I Know It’s Not My Fault.” (Click link to read full article.)
