Test Pattern: A Novel

When a new TV set arrives in the Palmer household in Newport News, Virginia, in 1954, change is in the wind. Eleven-year-old Cassie discovers that she--and only she -- can see glimpses of the future within the hypnotic test pattern: snippets from President Kennedy's assassination, the landing on the moon, the O.J. Simpson trial. Meanwhile, her family goes haywire. Her mother decides to pursue her dream of becoming a famous tap dancer, while her shipyard-worker father plunges into depression.Brilliantly re-creating the innocence and energy of that time, this magical tale offers a witty reflection on the troubled path to fame, a child's awakening to the world, and the tangled web of the family.