The summer Bria Powers turns 16 is sinister. Waves of insects plague her hometown of Beauchamp, where fentanyl has recently infiltrated the drug stream. Forest fires muddy the normally wide-open skies, and everything smells like a barbecue all the time. It's also the summer Bria goes from having saved a life to ruining her own.
Since her drug-dealing father disappeared and his girlfriend overdosed, Bria has lived with her aunt Tash and best friend/cousin Ains. By day, Bria and Ains babysit Ains's younger siblings and sling fast food at Burger Shack. But at night, Bria has her own secret world, sneaking out to see Someboy, an older guy who captivates her sometimes. Other times, he angers-insults-upends her, and that has a certain charm too.
But trouble comes for Beauchamp and for Bria in the form of bears that wander into town, dick pics texted from a mystery number, and a creeping dependence on what Bria should hate most of all.
***
It's well past midnight when who should text me, but the mystery dick pic man who's been burning up my phone with his unsolicited appendage for the last couple of months.- 1
***
(@ecwpress, 2 April 2024, e-galley, 400 pages, #ARC from the publisher via @NetGalley)
***
***
This is my first time reading the author. I really enjoyed What's Not Mine. The title made me want to read the book and I wasn't disappointed. I liked the use of first person narrator which really lets you get inside Bria's head. This was executed very well. I found Bria's story compelling as she deals with things far beyond her years including her drug-dealer of a father vanishing and his girlfriend's overdose. I was intrigued by Somebody, the sort of creepy older guy who offers her a clandestine outlet. This is a compelling read. I'd recommend it.
