Here, Kitty - Paperback

by Hays Blinckmann (Author)

Hillsdale, Massachusetts, is a small town ripe with secrets. But it's pretty hard for anyone to keep them after they encounter 16-year-old Kitty Kittrick. As subtle as a thunderstorm, Kitty catches everyone's attention with her bright-colored tracksuits, cheeky questions, and disarming honesty. Lacking the usual teenage insecurities or any regard for social boundaries, Kitty manages to gather Hillsdale's most troubled citizens and pull them from the hot mess they call lives.

But this story isn't just about Kitty. It's about the people she affects. Peter, the 25-year-old Yale dropout turned Kitty's tennis coach has yet to grow up. He realizes feeding his elderly parents pot brownies and ridiculing his high-strung brother aren't healthy pastimes. Nina, Kitty's older sister, who has raised Kitty since they were orphaned, is fearful Kitty will learn their darkest family secret but also that she will forever be alone on a Saturday night. Peter's best friend, Dave, hides his Tinder escapades and online gambling habits from his neurotic parents. And the fact he's gay, but that's not his biggest concern. Kitty's newly divorced neighbor Mia is battling an overly ambitious colleague trying to ban books from high school and her ex-husband, who is currently dating her sister. How can she hide loathing them? Meanwhile, her son Adam, 10, is hacking his father's Amazon account to send his family self-help books about narcissism. They are all liars but endearing just the same.

The catch? Kitty's number one rule in life is never to lie, especially to the people you love, or about anything, ever, at all. But even Kitty gets tested when a menacing stranger shows up in a rundown Toyota Corolla with a misshapen dragon tattoo and pisses off the Starbucks barista.

Here, Kitty is a heartfelt, hilarious story about growing up, taking risks, confronting the past, and learning when to own your mistakes. And not to go to Costco when high. Duh.