Bewilderness (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781646220243)

Set in rural, poverty-stricken North Carolina, this "beautiful, gritty, and piercing" novel follows two young women--best friends--as they "journey through the highs and lows of friendship, love, and addiction," perfect for readers of Julie Buntin's Marlena (Erika Carter, author of Lucky You).

Irene, a lonely nineteen-year-old in rural North Carolina, works long nights at the local pool hall, serving pitchers and dodging drunks. One evening, her hilarious, magnetic coworker Luce invites her on a joy ride through the mountains to take revenge on a particularly creepy customer. Their adventure not only spells the beginning of a dazzling friendship, it seduces both girls into the mysterious world of pills and the endless hustles needed to fund the next high.

Together, Irene and Luce run nickel-tossing scams at the county fair and trick dealers into trading legit pharms for birth-control pills. Everything is wild and wonderful until Luce finds a boyfriend who wants to help her get clean. Soon the two of them decide to move away and start a new, sober life in Florida--leaving Irene behind.

Told in a riveting dialogue between the girls' addicted past and their hopes for a better future, Bewilderness is not just a brilliant, funny, heartbreaking novel about opioid abuse, it's also a moving look at how intense, intimate friendships can shape every young woman's life.

Author: Karen Tucker
ISBN-10: 1646220242
ISBN-13: 9781646220243
Publisher: Catapult
Language: English
Published: 06/01/2021
Pages: 288
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.00lbs
Size: 8.30h x 5.70w x 1.10d

Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 03/22/2021
Kirkus Reviews 04/15/2021
Booklist 05/01/2021 pg. 16
Library Journal 06/01/2021 pg. 108