Lonely crowds : a novel

"Ruth, an only child of Kenyan immigrant parents, lives in an emotionally cold household and attends the local Catholic girl's school on a scholarship. Maria, a beautiful orphan whose Panamanian mother dies by suicide and is taken care of by an ill aunt, is also one of the only other students of color at the school. When Ruth becomes drawn into Maria's orbit, and they fall into an easy, yet intense, friendship, Ruth's world opens up. While Maria...