WINNER of the LEE SMITH NOVEL PRIZE

This sun-and-salt-kissed coming-of-age story reads like a wry, honest chat with a close friend. -Jaclyn Fulwood, Shelf Awareness

Evie Austin, native of Hatteras Island, North Carolina and baddest girl on the planet, has not lived her life in a straight line. There have been several detours-career snafus, bad romantic choices, a loved but unplanned child-not to mention her ill-advised lifelong obsession with boxer Mike Tyson. Evie is not plucky, but when life’s changes smash over her like the rough surf of the local shoreline, she muddles through-until that moment of loss and longing when muddling will no longer suffice. This is the story of what the baddest girl on the planet must find in herself when a bag of pastries, a new lover, or quick trip to Vegas won’t fix anything, and when something more than casual haplessness is required. The Baddest Girl on the Planet is inventive, sharp, witty, and poignant. Readers will want to jump in and advise this baddest girl on the planet-or at least just give her a shake or a hug-at every fascinating turn.