RaveThe New York Times Book ReviewThis is a fearless debut that carries as much tenderness as pain. The author never shrinks from putting herself back into the world after every hurt, and we are lucky for it ... The writing sustains humor and a seriousness of attention ... This book is both devastating and funny, its author’s sense of humor infectious ... Madden has a gift for salient detail ... Madden’s memories tell less of a sense of belonging than they do displacement ... The author makes no attempt to knit together an easy self-realization from these vignettes, but the reader gleans many moments of insight from such a talented, adept narrator ... a vast, arresting story. It’s a story of loving addicts. Of a queer sexual awakening. Of inhabiting a female body in America. Of biracial identity. Of obsessive, envy-fueled friendships. Of assault. It’s a eulogy and a love song. It’s about girls and the women they become. And it’s all compulsively readable, not just because of those big themes, but because of the embodied, needle-fine moments that make the stories sing.
