Such a Pretty Smile

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A biting novel from an electrifying new voice, this heart-stopping tour-de-force explores powerful women, angry men, and the struggles of girls fighting against silencing forces. Known only as The Cur, a mysterious entity is terrorizing girls on the cusp of womanhood, leaving behind only their torn bodies. These girls, labeled trouble-makers for refusing to conform, are those who dare to speak out. In 2019, thirteen-year-old Lila Sawyer harbors secrets she can't share with anyone—her school psychologist, her father with a new wife and baby, or her mother, the infamous artist Caroline Sawyer. Lila feels haunted by a delicious evil that teaches her to find her voice, only to face punishment for using it. In 2004, Caroline hears phantom dogs barking, which she initially attributes to insomnia and stress from caring for her ailing father. However, her delusions intensify, manifesting in violent sculptures created during trance-like states. While her fiancé urges her to seek help and her psychiatrist dismisses her issues with medication, Caroline grapples with a dark past filled with repressed memories and lurking horrors that men around her fail to comprehend. As past demons threaten their present, both Caroline and Lila must confront the oppressive power that binds them. Unsettling and unapologetically fierce, this novel serves as a powerful allegory for womanhood and a rallying cry for those told to sit down, shut up, and smi