First published 2021
Effie hasn't gotten over her parents' divorce a year ago. Her father and his new girlfriend flaunt their relationship online with embarrassing hashtags. Now they're selling the family home and throwing a house-cooling party. Effie wasn't invited. She remembers her precious Russian dolls hidden in a chimney and decides to sneak in to get them. The plan seems simple: grab the dolls and leave without anyone noticing. But Effie can't locate the dolls anywhere. She crawls through dusty attics, hides under tables, and tries to avoid her ex-boyfriend who's at the party. While searching, she overhears conversations and discovers surprising truths about her family members and herself. Time runs short as the party continues around her. Effie realizes that crashing the party openly might be the only way to learn what's really happening with her family and find what she's looking for.
Genres: fiction, romance, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: emotional-atmospheric, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, second-chance
Setting: Russia
Period: 21st-century
336 pages · Paperback · Bantam Press