Eating The Cheshire Cat: A Novel [Paperback]

The debut novel by the author ofAmerican Housewife.

Eating the Cheshire Catlures us into a world of perfectly planned parties and steep social ladders, where traditional rites of passage take unpredictable and horrifying turns as three girls and their overbearing mothers collide.

In Tuscaloosa, Alabama, beauty is as beauty does, with axes and knives and killer smiles.

Sarina Summers and her mother will stop at nothing to have it all. Nicole Hicks harbors a fierce obsession with Sarina, which repeatedly undermines Mrs. Hicks's ambitious goals. Bitty Jack Carlson, a nice girl from the wrong side of the tracks, is caught in the crossfire but struggles to succeed outside the confines of this outrageous yet eerily familiar Southern community. It's survival of the fittest. Which girl will come out on top?

Covering everything from summer camp to the University of Alabama's Homecoming game, this fast-paced and unforgettable novel will keep readers guessing until the bitter end.From Part One: Wonderland

Sarina

On the eve of her sixteenth birthday, Sarina Summers got an overnight stay at Druid City Hospital. As her mother helped her through the emergency room doors, Sarina knew there was no turning back. This was it. She was serious about her future.

What happened to this child? the doctor exclaimed. This child is drunk as a skunk and her fingers are broke!

Sarina could not answer. She was totally shit-faced.

Honey? Mrs. Summers said.

Miss? said the doctor as he held Sarina's eyes open by the brows. He lit up her pupils with a tiny flashlight. Let me know if you can hear me. He flicked the flashlight on and off. Anybody home?

Honestly, said Mrs. Summers. Does she need to be fully conscious for this? Could you just fix her fingers, please?

Sarina nodded furiously and tried to sit up on the gurney. She offered her hands to the doctor. She said, l³’