My Absolute Darling by Gabriel Tallent

My Absolute Darling is a perfect combination of propulsive storytelling and languid observation, a hero’s journey in the form of Turtle Alveston, a meticulous near-feral girl who is at ease in the expansiveness of the Mendocino coast but lost to the violence in her own home. Gorgeous in its depiction of nature, human and otherwise, unafraid to tell the truth, even in its complexity, this novel both breaks your heart and patches it with hope. - Melinda