The Pinning, fiction for women and young adults Elizabeth desperately wants to have friends. She was unable to have them as a child, since she grew up in a dysfunctional family. As an escape from her previous torment, she enters the University of Rhode Island during the Cold War searching for her identity and fulfillment. She unwittingly becomes the thread that sews together an eclectic group comprised of Ron, an unscrupulous classmate, Ralph, a boy out for revenge, Mark, a traumatized newspaper editor, Ivan, a professor with an ominous secret, Kenny, a decorated Vietnam soldier with a hidden agenda, Richard, an undercover Providence police detective, and Robert, a socially awkward suitor out to capture her heart. When Elizabeth finds herself invited to a secret political meeting known as the "coffee house," she jumps at the opportunity to try something different. While mingling at the "coffee house," she overhears a private conversation between a Russian man and a coed. Fearing the pair might have noticed her eavesdropping, she makes a rapid departure, only to find out later that she had not truly escaped the consequences of her accidental discovery. Although Elizabeth participates in the usual college activities and courses, her experiences become quite atypical when they include espionage, humorous encounters, and a romance affected by a controlling, mentally ill mother. Frequent and unexpected twists of events seem to threaten Elizabeth's plans for lasting friendships and a happy-ever-after future with her college sweetheart. Readers who have enjoyed The Memory Keeper's Daughter will choose this book to compliment their reading experience.