''Breahtaking'' Vogue ''So engrossing! Betty is a page-turning Appalachian coming-of-age story steeped in Cherokee history, told in undulating prose that settles right into you'' Naoise Dolan, Sunday Times bestselling author of Exciting Times ''I felt consumed by this book. I loved it, you will love it'' Daisy Johnson, Booker Prize shortlisted author of Everthing Under ''I loved Betty : I fell for its strong characters and was moved by the story it portrayed'' Fiona Mozley, Booker Prize shortlisted author of Elmet ''A girl comes of age against the knife.'' So begins the story of Betty Carpenter. Born in a bathtub in 1954 to a Cherokee father and white mother, Betty is the sixth of eight siblings. The world they inhabit is one of poverty and violence - both from outside the family and also, devastatingly, from within. When her family''s darkest secrets are brought to light, Betty has no choice but to reckon with the brutal history hiding in the hills, as well as the heart-wrenching cruelties and incredible characters she encounters in her rural town of Breathed, Ohio. Despite the hardship she faces, Betty is resilient. Her curiosity about the natural world, her fierce love for her sisters and her father''s brilliant stories are kindling for the fire of her own imagination, and in the face of all she bears witness to, Betty discovers an escape: she begins to write. A heartbreaking yet magical story, Betty is a punch-in-the-gut of a novel - full of the crushing cruelty of human nature and the redemptive power of words. ''Not a story you will soon forget'' Karen Joy Fowler, Booker Prize shortlisted author of We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves ''Shot through with moonshine, Bible verses, and folklore, Betty is about the cruelty we inflict on one another, the beauty we still manage to find, and the stories we tell in order to survive'' Eowyn Ivey, author of The Snow Child
Arcade and Daffodil are bright things, twins born one minute apart who swore to always protect each other. Together, Arc and Daffy forge a world shot through with colour and wonder: a patch of grass becomes an archaeologist''s dig; the toxic fumes emerging from the local paper mill are the dust rising from wild horses gallopping in the factory''s basement; an abandoned 1950s convertible is a time machine that can take them and their friends anywhere. Their bond is an escape from their struggling family, their imaginations a reprieve from the failing, lusterless streets of Chillicothe, Ohio. As the legacy of addiction that has long plagued their mother tightens its grip, Arc and Daffy try to build a new life for themselves. But when a local prostitute is found tangled in the banks of the river, Arc is drawn to the mystery, determined to find the truth and protect the only family she''s ever known. But as more familiar bodies are found and with the killer circling closer and closer, Arc''s mission to keep herself and her sister safe becomes increasingly desperate - and the powerful riptides of the savage side ever more difficult to resist. Drawing from the true story of six women killed in her native state, acclaimed novelist and poet Tiffany McDaniel has written a haunting, singular portrait of small town America and an elegy for missing women everywhere.
