“Intriguing and occasionally maddening...A murder mystery, a character study, an exploration of guilt and responsibility, an account of a utopian community gone awry…There are so many lovely moments in the book, beautiful passages of writing that speak to Beverly-Whittemore’s empathy and lyrical powers of description...[Saskia] is a fascinating character, her strengths and flaws equally interesting.”
—New York Times Book Review
“Written in beautiful prose...Captivating, thoughtful, and tense, a great read for those who enjoy psychological thrillers and complex puzzles. Highly recommended.”
—New York Journal Review of Books
“Ambitious, mesmerizing...what she does here is unique…Nail-biting, moody and every bit as compelling as the cult leader at its center, Fierce Little Thing is a powerful coming-of-age tale about the ways that we are forever changed by the traumas, lies and betrayals of our youth.”
—Book Reporter
“A Secret History-esque tale of suspense about a group of childhood friends and the secret that haunts their adulthood. The book’s got all the ingredients for the perfect summer read: short breathless chapters; a sinister cult in the wilds of Maine; and beautiful, sharp prose.”
—The Millions’ Most Anticipated: The Great Second-Half 2021 Book Preview
“Gripping.”
—USA Today
“Deftly ratchets up the tension...Avoiding the expected storyline…Beverly-Whittemore crafts something else entirely as the sins of the past come home to roost. A compelling study of power, sociopathy, and the possibilities of survival.”
—Kirkus, starred review
“Haunting psychological thriller…Beverly-Whittemore delivers a twisty, rewarding tale of friendship, secrets, and childhood trauma. Donna Tartt fans, take note.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Fierce Little Thing devoured me whole. It is at once a propulsive, perfectly plotted thriller and an exquisitely written, marvelously dark coming-of-age story. Once I opened it, I couldn't stop turning the pages. Once I finished it, it continued to haunt my thoughts. A spectacular and consuming read.”
—Cristina Alger, New York Times bestselling author of Girls Like Us
“Gorgeously written and brilliantly structured, Fierce Little Thing is a suspenseful, evocative coming-of-age tale about the unique worth of old friendships and the profound challenge of finding your true place in the world.”
—Kimberly McCreight, New York Times bestselling author of A Good Marriage
“A stubborn, elegant, terrifying study of human nature that manages to catch hold of the blur of human consciousness, the way reality shifts under us. If Donna Tartt and Shirley Jackson had a beautiful, terrifying baby it would be Miranda Beverly-Whittemore.”
—Rufi Thorpe, author of The Knockout Queen
“Fierce Little Thing is Miranda Beverly-Whittemore at her finest. A moody, gripping, and profoundly haunting story of a young girl desperate for connection and salvation. Beverly-Whittemore renders a wild, treacherous world and invites us to stand perilously close to the edge.”
—Taylor Jenkins Reid, New York Times bestselling author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
“With its propulsive momentum and its lush world, Fierce Little Thing kept me up late at night and splintered into my dreams. I experienced this novel with my whole body—tasted its sourdough, smelled its hand-dug latrines, heard its crackling pine needles and whispered secrets—and felt charged and changed by its explorations of the ways our adult lives keep circling the wounds and betrayals of childhood—as well as its sharp, tender insistence on the ways darkness and beauty sit side by side.”
—Leslie Jamison, New York Times bestselling author of The Empathy Exams
“Exquisite narrative…Plenty of light still gets in through [Saskia’s] wonder at the newly discovered natural world around her and the extraordinary friendships she forms…Saskia is strongly reminiscent of Donna Tartt’s Harriet (The Little Friend) and Shirley Jackson’s Merricat (We Have Always Lived in the Castle)....Teenager Saskia will have strong appeal for YA readers.”
—Booklist
★ 2021-05-05
When Saskia joined Home, a secluded Maine commune, she thought she had finally found a family. But cults never quite turn out as one might hope.
It all began when Saskia’s 4-year-old little brother died. With her father in jail, her mother absconded, and her grandmother unwilling to care for her, Saskia’s family disintegrates. Sent to live with family friends just after she turns 12, she initially thrives. Phillip, her new father figure, is an eccentric painter, and although his wife, Jane, is rarely around, Saskia soon bonds with their son, Xavier, who's her age. Then Jane decides not to come home, and Phillip takes them to Home, where the enigmatic leader, Abraham, holds court, urging everyone to “Unthing” themselves and give up all worldly attachments. There in the woods of Maine, Saskia finds new friends among the other kids. But she is also surrounded by adults trying to navigate marital and financial difficulties. In the background, the siege on Waco has Abraham on edge, and bad choices eventually erupt in a catastrophic event. Sixteen years later, Saskia and her friends from Home are living separate lives: Xavier and his husband are trying to adopt a child, Ben and Cornelia have built their own families, Issy is a single mom. Only Saskia lives alone and isolated in her late grandmother's Connecticut house. Mysterious letters have arrived in all their mailboxes, luring them back to Home, threatening to reveal a terrible secret. As the tightly structured chapters toggle between Saskia’s past and present, Beverly-Whittemore deftly ratchets up the tension by slowly, almost imperceptibly revealing the psychological troubles haunting not only Saskia, but also Abraham. Avoiding the expected storyline of “cult leader sexually abuses young girl,” Beverly-Whittemore crafts something else entirely as the sins of the past come home to roost.
A compelling study of power, sociopathy, and the possibilities of survival.
