Publishers Weekly
03/25/2024
A West Virginia girl descends into opioid addiction after giving birth and breaking up with her trans girlfriend in Maren’s emotionally taut if thematically uneven latest (after Perpetual West). Shae, an introverted 16-year-old, is captivated by the new-to-town Cam, a misfit with piercings and long blond hair who is defiant even while being bullied by classmates. The pair bond over their love of punk rock, and Cam moves in with Shae and her mother. The teens start having sex, and Shae gets pregnant. Shortly before their daughter, Eva, is born, Cam, now the lead singer of a band, appears onstage in Shae’s clothes and comes out as trans. Shae, hearing the news for the first time, is fearful of what Cam’s transition will mean for their relationship. Then, after a botched C-section, her doctor prescribes OxyContin for the pain. Unable to finish school and working as a stripper to score pills and heroin, Shae blames herself as Cam pulls away and thrives at college. Maren beautifully evokes both the natural beauty of Appalachia and Shae’s plaintive longing for Cam, though the characterization of the saintly Cam, who returns to take custody of Eva while still an undergrad, feels a bit flat. Still, Maren continues to show a knack for portraying the complexities and contradictions of an often-misunderstood part of America. Agent: Bill Clegg, Clegg Agency. (May)
From the Publisher
Named a Best/Most Anticipated Book of the Season by Literary Hub, Electric Literature, Book Riot, Bitter Southerner, Deep South, and LGBTQ Reads
“Maren brilliantly gives voice to a New South, introducing us to two unforgettable characters whose journeys echo the struggles of queer people across the country. This book is essential for the new queer canon emerging from Southern writers. I can’t wait to put this in the hands of so many people who need it and will no doubt see themselves in this beautiful narrative.”—Garrard Conley, author of Boy Erased and All the World Beside
“An expansive, quietly devastating novel that fearlessly explores queer love, motherhood and the siren call of addiction."—Jenny Offill, author of Weather
“Mesha Maren paints a vivid, unforgettable portrait of two young women—one cis and one trans—living in West Virginia and trying to break free from the confinements of gender, class, and sexuality. Mesha Maren is a visionary storyteller and her prose is incandescent. The sentences shimmer with precision, elegance, and grit. It’s the kind of book that gets under your skin. I couldn't put it down. Shae is a beautiful, big-hearted novel about love, desire, and daring to be one’s self. I will be thinking about the characters for a long time.”—Carter Sickels, author of The Prettiest Star
"[Shae] had me gripping the seat of my chair… Maren has crafted her title character so vividly that we’re not just along for the ride: we are hungry for Shae to find what will make her whole—because we recognize some essential part of Shae in ourselves… Mesha Maren’s work never flinches… a revelation… she’s created one of the most humane portrayals of addiction that I’ve encountered... painful and beautiful and honest… It’s unforgettable.”—Jonathan Corcoran, Salvation South
"Shae’s voice, rendered masterfully by Maren, is at once lyrical, surreal, even hallucinatory, and nevertheless utterly persuasive as the words of a high school dropout from rural West Virginia. The skillful modulation of this extraordinary and extraordinarily endearing voice makes Shae a book that once begun must be finished, perhaps in a single sitting... Maren does not flinch from the harsh consequences of addiction, but she rescues Shae from becoming a lurid cautionary tale by emphasizing the interior life of the narrator with grace, lyricism, and sensitivity."—Chapter16.org
"Shae is a brilliant addition to [Maren's] impressive list of publications. In Shae, Maren depicts her own hometown in West Virginia as a site of young queer love and heartbreak. The novel is a triumph of careful attention to craft, place, and empathy, and it is populated by characters you’ll want to know more about."—Southern Review of Books
“Maren is an astute and indispensable chronicler of Appalachian queerness.” —Electric Literature
“Harrowing...heartrending...there is much to savor here. An alternately tender and challenging trip down the rabbit hole with an unforgettable young woman."—Kirkus Reviews
“The softer moments of this story are where Maren’s poetic intuition and love for the craft truly shine… The book is saturated with glistening prose and residual imagery... From beginning to end, the novel captures the rawness of the land, its inherent beauty, its people, the way a place can shadow over who a person becomes… What I really love about Maren’s novels – and her short stories, too – is that the characters are vulnerable, raw, real… Maren has developed her own corner of queer rural literature, adding to the conversation surrounding addiction new perspectives with nuance and grace. The Appalachian literary world is lucky to have Mesha Maren and we’ll gladly claim her as our own.”—Leo Coffey, Reckon Review
“Mesha Maren’s third novel Shae is an aching Appalachian coming-of-age story about a relationship between two teenagers who navigate a raw and courageous journey through the crossroads of identity and addiction. As much an homage to her home state of West Virginia as a nod to those who have struggled to survive small-town limitations, Maren delivers a profoundly intimate study on alienation and how the catastrophic impact of pain and dependency ripples through communities.”—Leah Tyler, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“Shae reminds us in the most essential ways that becoming our truest self is a lifelong pursuit, first practiced on the wobbly legs of adolescence... Maren explores identity and addiction with remarkable depth in this bingeable queer love story.”—Bitter Southerner
“What a gorgeous gut punch of a book! Maren has outdone herself with her third novel; I was in love from the first page. Maren’s prose will break your heart even while you stop to soak in its beauty. Do not miss this book.”—Andi Richardson, Fountain Bookstore, Electric Literature
“Emotionally taut. Maren beautifully evokes both the natural beauty of Appalachia and Shae’s plaintive longing for Cam… Maren continues to show a knack for portraying the complexities and contradictions of an often-misunderstood part of America.”—Publishers Weekly
“In stark, reflective prose, Maren (Perpetual West, 2022) lets Shae’s voice guide the narrative. Readers will connect with Maren’s sensitively told story of love, dependence, and the opioid epidemic.”—Booklist
"Heart-wrenching."—Poets & Writers
“Some books simmer for a while; some boil from the get-go. Mesha Maren’s Shae boils. Her book grabs us instantly… . [Her] portrayal of an addict living in a constant fugue state chasing her next fix is all encompassing and powerful. Compelling.”—Pittsburgh Gazette
“Poignant … Shae is hard to put down. It may be a powerful coming-of-age exploration, but it’s a story for everyone."—Indy Week
“Full of heart and the ache that comes from growing up far too fast, Shae is a novel that will linger in your mind long after you’ve finished it.”—Book Riot
