This searing novel from the bestselling author of Such a Bad Influence, follows a young woman whose life is upended when a journalist uncovers her hidden past as the daughter of an insidious cult leader.
From the outside, Catharine Westâs childhood sounds idyllicâbalmy days spent running barefoot through the gardens, plucking ripe tomatoes straight from the vine as sunlight warmed her skin. Her parents built a life that was simple and community-focused, an ethos that soon attracted others in need of a change. For a time, Catharineâs magnetic father was enough to keep the farm thriving, and temptation outside its gates. But as she grew older, the farm and family she was raised to love faded into something darker, forcing Catharine to evolve with it.
âItâs now been a decade since Catharine abandoned the farm and has done her best to reinvent her life, until an email from a charismatic journalist interrupts her peace. Her first instinct is to ignore the strangerâs prying questionsâwhether she knew about a mysterious âcultâ in central Florida, whether she is the same âCatharine-with-an-Aâ who lived there for a time. But when she realizes the journalist knows far more than heâs letting on, she reconsiders. If Catharine can stay one step ahead of him, she may be able to find the one thing she never wanted to leave behindâher sister, Linnaâand make sure her own secrets remain buried too.
Sharp-eyed and sweltering, Little One masterfully captures the dread of facing your deepest desires, when the hunger to become your best self threatens to drown out everything else. An achingly astute look at modern womanhood and wellness culture, it tackles the enduring question: How far would you go to be good?
"Taut and unflinching ... A dark, deeply engaging and emotionally charged ride from start to finish."âAshley Audrain, New York Times bestselling author of The Push
This searing novel from the bestselling author of Such a Bad Influence, follows a young woman whose life is upended when a journalist uncovers her hidden past as the daughter of an insidious cult leader.
From the outside, Catharine Westâs childhood sounds idyllicâbalmy days spent running barefoot through the gardens, plucking ripe tomatoes straight from the vine as sunlight warmed her skin. Her parents built a life that was simple and community-focused, an ethos that soon attracted others in need of a change. For a time, Catharineâs magnetic father was enough to keep the farm thriving, and temptation outside its gates. But as she grew older, the farm and family she was raised to love faded into something darker, forcing Catharine to evolve with it.
âItâs now been a decade since Catharine abandoned the farm and has done her best to reinvent her life, until an email from a charismatic journalist interrupts her peace. Her first instinct is to ignore the strangerâs prying questionsâwhether she knew about a mysterious âcultâ in central Florida, whether she is the same âCatharine-with-an-Aâ who lived there for a time. But when she realizes the journalist knows far more than heâs letting on, she reconsiders. If Catharine can stay one step ahead of him, she may be able to find the one thing she never wanted to leave behindâher sister, Linnaâand make sure her own secrets remain buried too.
Sharp-eyed and sweltering, Little One masterfully captures the dread of facing your deepest desires, when the hunger to become your best self threatens to drown out everything else. An achingly astute look at modern womanhood and wellness culture, it tackles the enduring question: How far would you go to be good?
"Taut and unflinching ... A dark, deeply engaging and emotionally charged ride from start to finish."âAshley Audrain, New York Times bestselling author of The Push