From the Publisher
A searingly accurate portrayal of female adolescence. Impeccable in its execution. Any reader interested in the inner world of girls on the brink of womanhood in a man’s world will be spellbound.” — Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA)
“Darkly atmospheric and brutally honest, LITTLE WRECKS depicts girls becoming women in a society that devalues both.” — Mindy McGinnis, author of FEMALE OF THE SPECIES
“Darkly thought–provoking reflections on modern gender politics.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Readers who adore lyrical, character driven fiction with a gritty edge will find plenty to love here.” — Booklist
Booklist
Readers who adore lyrical, character driven fiction with a gritty edge will find plenty to love here.
Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA)
A searingly accurate portrayal of female adolescence. Impeccable in its execution. Any reader interested in the inner world of girls on the brink of womanhood in a man’s world will be spellbound.
Mindy McGinnis
Darkly atmospheric and brutally honest, LITTLE WRECKS depicts girls becoming women in a society that devalues both.
Booklist
Readers who adore lyrical, character driven fiction with a gritty edge will find plenty to love here.
School Library Journal
06/01/2017
Gr 9 Up—Ruth, Magda, and Isabel are best friends, connected by their dislike of living in Highbone, a small coastal town in Long Island, NY. The girls have relationships with boys in town but long to leave their empty lives behind. They eventually hatch a plot to steal marijuana from a local dealer. They hope to use the profits to make their grand escape, but things are not quite as easy as they initially appear. The seemingly perfect crime begins to drive a wedge among Ruth, Magda, and Isabel that they may not be able to repair. Debut novelist Miller has crafted a fairly successful, dynamic coming-of-age tale about growing up in a small town. However, the narrative suffers from a lack of momentum throughout. It is also fairly easy to confuse the three protagonists—especially in the first half of the story. The author uses colorful metaphors to help readers visualize the characters' dissatisfaction and angst. While the comparisons are beautifully descriptive, they keep the story from moving forward. VERDICT A supplemental purchase for libraries looking for additional coming-of-age titles with multiple female protagonists.—Ryan P. Donovan, Southborough Public Library, MA
NOVEMBER 2017 - AudioFile
In the the 1970s, three disillusioned teens commit a crime to fund their escape from Highbone, a small town filled with emotional pain and sexism hiding in plain sight. Narrator Khristine Hvam's talent for balancing youthful optimism with impending dread is the perfect fit for Miller's poetic prose. Hvam creates a belligerent and authoritative tone for the trio’s leader, Magda, who is secretly caught in a cycle of abuse. The reckless Isabel is given a bright high-pitched tone even when her actions turn deadly. Hvam excels at portraying the anxieties and fears of Ruth—the pretty girl trapped in her own dark thoughts. The narration is tied together with a “spaced-out” drawl that fits the time period and makes the slang sound natural and relatable. J.E.C. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2017-03-15
Three teen girls come of age during the late 1970s, experiencing and reacting to a culture of threatening misogyny.Isabel describes the white threesome's friendship in relationship to their Long Island seashore hometown, noting their shared understanding that the three are not "supposed to be here. They all know it, and that's why they get each other; that's why they're friends." Readers may find this puzzling, because the town has charming features, making the friends' daydreams of leaving initially seem like teenage wanderlust. But soon readers see all three subjected to groping at a doughnut shop and physically threatened by men in an alley, and one is brutally date raped. The misogyny continues as Isabel realizes her boyfriend's expectations of sex: "She is supposed to resist. He is supposed to have to force her." Ruth observes her mother's series of abusive boyfriends and understands the open secret that her father is likely a married man in town, a fact for which only her mother seems to receive condemnation. When Magda's father physically attacks her in public even the witnessing police officers refuse to acknowledge it. The girls' resulting feelings of powerlessness and simmering anger occasionally erupt in ways that can't be condoned but that clearly stem from the daily injustices forced upon them. Darkly thought-provoking reflections on modern gender politics. (Historical fiction. 14-adult)
