In this gritty story of survival set in northern Michigan, 16-year-old Percy James shoulders responsibilities beyond her years, quitting school to work at a furniture-making store to support herself and her drug-addicted mother Carletta whose disappearance during a snow-storm leads a concerned Percy to a drug-den where her outrage at the severe neglect of a baby brings her to risk life and limb to bring the child to safety.
“Sweetgirl works on so many levels, it’s difficult to know how to classify it… hilarious, heartbreaking and true, a major accomplishment from an author who looks certain to have an impressive career ahead of him.” (NPR)
” A riveting novel… far, far funnier than it has any right to be. If you’re a fan of Charles Portis and Denis Johnson–and if you’re not, then you should be–then this is book is exactly what you’ve been wanting, what you’ve been waiting for.” (Brock Clarke, author of The Happiest People in the World)
“[Sweetgirl is] filled with true wit, cunning, and the unwanted wisdom of a child denied a childhood. This novel comes on like the blizzard at its center, and leaves you dazzled and dazed not only by how much Travis Mulhauser knows, but how deeply he cares.” (Michael Parker, author of All I Have in this World)
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