208 pages
English language
Published April 15, 2015 by Northwestern University Press.
Jen Beagins funny, moving, fearless debut novel introduces an unforgettable character, Mona--almost 24, cleaning houses to get by, emotionally adrift. Handing out clean needles to drug addicts, she falls for a recipient who proceeds to break her heart in unimaginable ways. Always just under the surface are her memories of growing up in a chaotic, destructive family from which she's trying to disentangle herself. The story of her journey toward a comfortable place in the world and a measure of self-acceptance is psychologically acute, often surprising, and entirely human.
Her work is peppered with white moments in otherwise humorous, off-center, compulsive reading. This one includes racist lampshading ('I choose to have my character say something racist apropos of no theme, but she acknowledges it's racist so it's ok').
