Shrug

It's the 1960s, and teenager Martha Goldenthal just wants to do well at Berkeley High and apply to college-but how can she when her father is a raging batterer who disdains academia, and her mother is arguably worse? When her mother abandons the family, Martha must stand up to her father to fulfill her vision of going to college.

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In the US, nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner-which equates to more than 10 million women and men per year. Children who witness domestic violence in their homes are 15 times more likely than other children to be victims of child abuse themselves.

Transient tics are relatively common, affecting as many as 24% of school-age children.

About half of YA purchases are by adults. With 35 million baby boomer women in the US, the potential crossover audience for Shrug is considerable.

AUDIENCE:

Young adults (ages 12 to 18)

Women who lived through the 1960s (baby boomers)

Those interested in stories of family dysfunction, domestic violence, and recovery

Those with tic disorders

Classical music fans and vinyl fans