A “compelling” work of fiction that follows a woman’s relationships through the years and asks why intelligent girls make terrible choices (Edan Lepucki, New York Times–bestselling author of California).

Daring yet aimless, smart but slightly strange, Cake Time’s young female protagonist keeps making slippery choices, sliding into the dangerous space where curiosity melds with fear and desires turn into dirty messes. In “How Not to Have an Abortion, ” the teenaged narrator looks for a ride from the clinic between her AP exams. In “Easy Target, ” the now-college-grad agrees to go to a swingers’ party with a handsome stranger. A decade later, in “Glow, ” she is suddenly confronted by the disturbing and thrilling fact of her lover’s secret daughter. Ultimately, this unflinching novel-in-stories grapples with urgent, timeless questions: why intelligent girls make terrible choices, where to negotiate a private self in an increasingly public world, and how to love madly without losing a sense of self.

“A young woman explores the dangerous, voyeuristic, and violent undertones of her sexual encounters … a strong, nimble voice … a brave and unapologetically bold new writer. ” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“A delicious indulgence … Treat yourself to its dark, seductive intimacies and savor the gritty sugar of its unsentimental humor. ” —Jillian Lauren, New York Times–bestselling author of Some Girls

“These complex, flawed, and real characters live in our current world, with all its confusions and opportunity to connect—or disconnect. ”—Edan Lepucki, New York Times-bestselling author of California

Winner of the 2015 Red Hen Press Fiction Award

© 2017 Red Hen Press (Ebook): 9781597095716

Release date

Ebook: 6 April 2017