THE CENTER FOR FICTION FIRST NOVEL PRIZE SHORTLIST - From the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize finalist, whose short stories received instant acclaim ('Sparingly told, evoked with lacerating intimacy . . . Extraordinary'--Esquire), a debut novel about a young woman's coming of age, and the singular friendship that challenges her values, her beliefs, and the course of her life At sixteen, Eva meets Jamie by chance. She lives in middle-class south Brooklyn; he comes from the super rich of upper Manhattan. She's observant, cautious, often insecure; he's curious, bold, full of mysteries. These two questers are drawn together in a strange and profound friendship, tested by forces larger than themselves. As Eva follows a path of conventional achievement--a prestigious degree, a formative romance, the start of an ambitious career--Jamie seeks out more radical experiments in finding himself: renouncing his family, joining a political movement, and eventually even talking to God. Carried forcefully