Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book!
This is a coming-of-age story, complete with all the typical teenage angst, however, much grittier and sharp.
Catherine (redefined as Cat) has to leave her exclusive private school and move to a very small town in northern Michigan when her parents divorce. Her mom used her settlement to buy a prefab home for the family, which includes her old brother, Jimmy.
Living in a barn across the street is a very dysfunctional family - Marlena and her little brother, Sal, along with her druggie father. Cat becomes obsessed with Marlena, two years older and coming from a much different background. However, they're both grieving the loss of a parent - Cat's dad who now is remarried, and Marlena's mom, who disappeared. Cat goes from a high-achiever to skipping out of school. They soon become inseparable, and Marlena introduces Cat to a whole different world - drinking, drugs, sex.
We're told in the beginning of the story that Marlena dies - drowning in 6" of water in the woods on a cold November night. The story is spooled out between time periods and locations - Michigan in the past as we learn of the girls' story and New York in the present, where Cat is still struggling with her demons, the loss of her friend, and letting her past define her.
A great debut novel - not always easy to read but written wonderfully.
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