by Lydia Millet
First published 2021
Eve watches her parents and their friends sink into days of drinking, drugs, and endless parties at a lakeside mansion during what should be a family vacation. She and eleven other children, all mature beyond their years, feel both ignored and trapped by the adults who brought them here. The parents barely notice their kids exist, lost in their own haze of indulgence. When a violent storm hits the estate, Eve decides she has had enough. She convinces the other older children to flee, taking the younger ones with them into the dangerous world outside. Her little brother carries a worn picture Bible everywhere, and as they move through the devastation, Eve notices the scenes around them mirror the biblical stories in his book. She becomes determined to protect him from the chaos that seems to echo ancient prophecies. The children must navigate both the physical destruction left by the storm and the deeper breakdown between their generation and their parents.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Lakeside Mansion
Period: Family Vacation
224 pages · Paperback · W. W. Norton & Company
Content warnings: alcohol-abuse, drug-use