Sweetgirl
- 256 pages
- 9 hours of reading
A blistering debut driven by the raw, whip-smart voice of sixteen-year-old Percy James, whose search for her missing mother leads to unexpected discoveries and a life-and-death struggle in the harsh frozen landscape of the upper Midwest. As a blizzard approaches, Percy sets off to find her troubled mother, Carletta, who has been unraveling for years. Fearing that Carletta, possibly strung out on meth, won’t survive the storm, Percy heads for Shelton Potter’s cabin in northern Michigan. Upon arrival, she finds no sign of her mother, but discovers Shelton and his girlfriend drugged, along with a crying baby girl left alone in a freezing room. Realizing she must save the baby, Percy embarks on a dangerous journey, battling the elements and evading Shelton and desperate criminals intent on reclaiming the child. As violence erupts and the storm intensifies, Percy confronts her mother’s affliction and finds her fate increasingly tied to the baby she is determined to protect. This affecting exploration of courage, sacrifice, and the ties that bind is a taut, darkly humorous tour de force that captures the cultural and geographic isolation of its setting.
