A New York Times bestseller
A New York Times Notable Book of 2011
Russell is the author of the collection St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves. She has been named one of Granta’s Best Young American Novelists.
From the author of the much-heralded short-story collection St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves.
This blazingly original debut novel takes us to the swamps of the Florida Everglades to meet Ava Bigtree‚ an unforgettable young heroine. The Bigtree alligator-wrestling dynasty is in decline‚ overtaken by a sophisticated competitor. As her family members variously die‚ disappear‚ depart and defect‚ Ava‚ a resourceful but terrified thirteen‚ is left to manage ninety-eight gators and the vast‚ inscrutable landscape of her own grief.