Where the Girls Were - in 1968, a bright high school girl is sent to a home for unwed mothers.

As 1968 approaches, Elizabeth "Baker" Phillips, a high school senior at the top of her class, is planning to attend Stanford University. She's her parents’ pride and joy.  The sexual revolution has arrived, with hippies advocating "free love." Yet despite the progress of the feminist movement, laws and opinions remain relatively unchanged. When Baker spends New Year's Eve at a concert in San Francisco with her older cousin, she meets a free spirit named Wiley and begins to explore her sexual freedom. When Baker discovers that she is pregnant, she learns that her options are limited. She is shipped off to a home for unwed mothers, where she must decide if she is going to do what is expected or start to make her own decisions. 

Where the Girls Were by Kate Schatz is an engaging and well-researched book set during a period of societal change. The author captures the right tone for a time where women were on the verge of gaining more rights. San Francisco, the epicenter of the "Summer of Love," serves as the perfect backdrop. The young women in the "home" where Baker is taken to provide a unique support system. Be sure to read the Author's Note where Schatz shares the personal significance of this moving story.

Many thanks to Random House | The Dial Press for the advance.

Rated 4.25 out of 5 stars.

Historical Fiction.

Publication Date: March 3, 2026.

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