This book is *DEVASTATING*. It's full of trauma, from that of adoption, sexual assault, and familial stress. We follow Mika, a young aspiring artist who's reconnecting with her daughter Penny after giving her up for adoption 16 years prior. Mika constantly finds herself lying to Penny in part to impress her, but also to compensate for her failures in life. But these lies come out early (thankfully), and the story is really about how to build trust after so many years apart and how to process trauma together. I loved how the narrator characterized Mika and Penny so differently, from the chipper attitude to the innocence in her voice. I also really liked how she portrayed the lasting effects that Mika's rape had on her, and the contrast to how Mika's mother views it.

This is by no means an easy read, but it is a great one.

*Thank you to Harper Audio for an ALC, as well as William Morrow and BiblioLifestyle for the gifted finished copy*