Set in 1978-79 in small-town Michigan, Marquee Nights follows seventeen-year-old Lisa Brennan as she works at the local single-screen movie theater during her senior year of high school. Surrounded by a close-knit group of teenage coworkers who become her chosen family, Lisa finds herself torn between two different the safe, expected path of college and teaching that her parents want for her, or the uncertain dream of moving to California to pursue screenwriting with Ricky Sullivan, the mysterious projectionist who captures her heart. Against the backdrop of classic rock, disco, and the fading golden age of movie theaters, Lisa must choose between the reliable love of her friend TJ Morrison and the passionate uncertainty of following her dreams. The novel captures the bittersweet transition from adolescence to adulthood, exploring themes of friendship, first love, and the courage required to write your own story rather than living the one others expect of you.
