Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Apr 2024
256 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Information
A poignant, surprising, and immersive read about a young professional woman pursuing an emotionally intense relationship with a married lesbian couple, for readers of Kristen Arnett and Melissa Broder
Helen, a jittery attorney with a self-destructive streak, is secretly reeling from a disturbing crime of neglect that her parents recently committed. Historically happy to compartmentalize—distracting herself by hooking up with lesbian couples, doting on her grandmother, and flirting with a young administrative assistant—Helen finally meets her match with Catherine and Katrina, a married couple who startle and intrigue her with their ever-increasing sexual and emotional intensity.
Perceptive and attentive, Catherine and Katrina prod at Helen's life, revealing a childhood tragedy she's been repressing. When her father begs her yet again for help getting parole, she realizes that she has a bargaining chip to get answers to her past.
A Good Happy Girl is interested in worlds without men—and women who will do what they can to get what they want. In her exploration of twisted desires, queer domesticity, and the effects of incarceration on the family, Marissa Higgins offers empathy to characters who often don't receive it, with unsettling results.
"[A] striking and visceral debut ... Higgins expertly captures the longing and self-loathing that drive Helen's masochism ... The results are as captivating as they are disturbing." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"A moving portrait of Helen's suffering and the potential for healing she finds in the 'warm cruelty' of her chosen family ... A provocative read." —Kirkus Reviews
"Higgins' captivating debut is a disturbing, intimate look at the mind of a young woman struggling mightily to maintain a semblance of normalcy ... By turns heart-wrenching, upsetting, and racy, this is a unique take on trauma and broken relationships." —Booklist
"Marissa Higgins has an addictive and uncanny ability to write about devastating topics with a shrug. It's a talent that's on display in her original and stylish debut novel." —Nylon, A Most Anticipated Book of the Year
"If you're a fan of Melissa Broder or Sally Rooney, and have ever wished their work was gayer ... look no further! ... A poignant, captivating, observant, and very queer narration following a fraught period of early adulthood." —Queerty
"One of the sexiest, most sensual, and sapphic books in recent memory ... Come for the tantalizing text but stay for the subtle, soft humane moments in between." —Debutiful
This information about A Good Happy Girl was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Marissa Higgins (she/her/hers) is a lesbian writer. A Good Happy Girl is her first novel.
The Flower Sisters
by Michelle Collins Anderson
From the new Fannie Flagg of the Ozarks, a richly-woven story of family, forgiveness, and reinvention.
The silence between the notes is as important as the notes themselves.
Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!
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