"Set against the backdrop of sunny California, in these stories, you will encounter: teenagers flirting with danger, an entrepreneurial mother–son duo, a phone sex operator, a very sad kidnapper. Chelsea Bieker is back, baby!" —Katie Yee, Lit Hub, One of the Most Anticipated Books of the Year

“[An] exemplary first collection . . . A powerful collection; highly recommended.” —Library Journal Starred Review

“Wrenching . . . Darkly comic . . . Throughout, Bieker’s deeply human narrators bend the reader’s ear with memorable stories.” —Publishers Weekly Starred Review

“Bieker flexes a gift for the short form in her searing first collection. Each story draws readers in, moving them to love Bieker's crusty characters before ending just in time to satisfy . . . The volume is turned way up on the corruption of these characters' relationships and the severity of their missteps; such big, loud behavior creates ample space to observe their pulsing humanity. Readers will get lost in this riot of a collection, like a sun-bleached fever dream.” —BooklistStarred Review

"There is a Coen brothers–esque dark zaniness to their plots, which are full of hapless criminals and bumbling lovers, all filtered through lovely prose . . . In nearly all the stories, the mother-child relationship is the beating heart, a heart that is shot through with the poison of poverty, substance abuse, and disenfranchisement. But that Bieker finds such humor and poetry in that heart is a testament to both her skill and her tender affection for her wayward characters. Larger than life and darker than hell." —Kirkus Starred Review

Chelsea Bieker is the author of the novel Godshot, which was a finalist for both the Oregon and California Book Awards, longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, named an NPR Best Book of the Year, and a Barnes & Noble Fiction Pick. She lives in Portland, Oregon, with her husband and two children.