Her contractor father built several houses at once, settling the family in one until it sold and then moving on. In an essay in
Something about the Author Autobiography Series (
SAAS), Napoli describes herself as an "outsider." The family's constant uprooting and sometimes precarious financial situation kept her a little isolated from her peers, so, initially at least, school was a struggle. But by the second grade, Napoli learned to read, delighting in the seemingly endless supply of books in the school library. Although she remembers her father read the newspaper, Napoli wrote in
SAAS that "We had no books in our house. None whatsoever.... I'm not sure I ever saw my mother read at all." Even with her enthusiasm for reading, Napoli didn't shine academically until a few years later, her progress stunted by her severe myopia. When her vision problems were finally diagnosed and treated, Napoli began to excel at her schoolwork. She was voted "best all around" by the time of her high school graduation in 1966, with special proficiency in math, French, and Latin.
The full scholarship she earned to Radcliffe College, then the women's college affiliated with Harvard University, became a turning point for Napoli.
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