An American novelist, literary critic, and essayist, she is most famous for her 1985 novel, In Country, which was made into a feature film. Her other works include numerous short story collections and The Girl Sleuth, a feminist critique of Nancy Drew and the Bobbsey Twins. She graduated from the University of Kentucky with a degree in English and subsequently received a PhD in literature from the University of Connecticut. In between college and graduate school, she worked for several New York magazines and wrote articles about celebrities.