Shortlisted for the Women's Fiction Prize, the startling story of a girl who has to bring herself up

'Like Angela Carter, she is relentlessly inventive' Sunday Times
'Full of pathos, spirit and iridescent innocence' Independent on Sunday

The first novel by the author of The Lonely Hearts Hotel

12-year-old Baby is used to turmoil in her life. Her mother is long dead, her father is a junkie and they shuttle between rotting apartments and decrepit downtown hotels.

As her father's addiction and paranoia grow worse, she begins a journey that will lead her through chaos and hardship; but Baby's remarkable strength of spirit enables her to survive. Smart, funny and determined to lift herself off the city's dirty streets, she knows that the only person she can truly rely upon is herself.

A remarkable novel that could turn out to be huge... the very rich descriptions of a tumultuous young life and emotional reaction to each new situation add up to a cracking good read - Publishing News