Award-winning author Jenny Cafaro presents a Southern Gothic story: The Bible of Blackwater County They called her mudpuppy—a bottom-feeder, something that crawls through the muck and never comes clean. Trapped in a shack lined with newspaper after her daddy left the coal mines, fifteen-year-old Bessie was the oldest of eight—never expected to survive, let alone matter. Then she caught the eye of a man lurking in the shadows, older than her father. But she did both. By eighteen, she'd earned her name in headlines alongside the murders. 1931 made Bessie Winter the scandal of Blackwater County. That mud never washed off. Now, at the end of her life, Bessie has been saved and baptized—and she's finally telling the real story of that year. Not the lies the papers spread, but the choices that kept her alive, the story she let them believe, and the secret she's kept about the night her husband died. A raw, haunting tale of survival, scandal, and the price of silence—for readers of Where the Crawdads Sing and The Great Alone.

Shortlisted for the TikTok Book Awards in the Book of the Year, 2023 and the Goodreads Debut and Fiction Book of the Year, 2023. It’s fair to say that Maddie’s life in London is far from rewarding. With a mother who spends most of her time in Ghana (yet still somehow manages to be overbearing), Maddie is the primary caretaker for her father, who suffers from advanced stage Parkinson’s. At work, her boss is a nightmare and Maddie is tired of always being the only Black person in every meeting. When her mum returns from her latest trip to Ghana, Maddie leaps at the chance to get out of the family home and finally start living. A self-acknowledged late bloomer, she’s ready to experience some important “firsts”: She finds a flat share, says yes to after-work drinks, pushes for more recognition in her career, and throws herself into the bewildering world of internet dating. But it's not long before tragedy strikes, forcing Maddie to face the true nature of her unconventional family, and the perils—and rewards—of putting her life on the line. Smart, funny, and deeply affecting, Jessica George's Maame deals with the themes of our time with humor and poignancy: from familial duty and racism, to female pleasure, the complexity of love, and the life-saving power of friendship. Most important, it explores what it feels like to be torn between two homes and cultures―and it celebrates finally being able to find where you belong.