"A gritty tale . . . unflinching . . . there's plenty to savor in this intense novel."

--Publishers Weekly

"Riveting . . . Alternating between curious enthusiasms and disturbing moments of forced maturity, the novel captures the ambiguities and intensities of teenage emotions and relationships well. Primary and tangential characters are developed with subtle depth, and the conclusion leads to a surge of rallying, heartening girls' empowerment. Three girls navigate the propulsive vulnerability of adolescence in the keen and compassionate novel When We Were Feral."

--Foreword Reviews

"One summer can change everything in Shasta Grant's thrilling debut. When We Were Feral captures the raw, untamed edges of girlhood with mesmerizing prose that illuminates the inner workings of grief, trauma, and the precariousness of coming of age. Haunting, propulsive, and brilliantly observed, this unforgettable novel is chock full of emotional suspense and depth--a stunning exploration of friendship, loss, mothers and daughters, and the ferocity that lies dormant in us all. I want everyone to read this book."

-- Chelsea Bieker, author of Madwoman and Godshot

"When We Were Feral is a searing, spellbinding coming-of-age saga. It's deeply moving and beautifully unsettling. Girlhood and friendship hold hands here, twisting fingertips that alternately caress and bruise. Through it all, the watery shape of the absent mother hovers over the novel, a haunting reflection rippling across the surface of a lake. Shasta Grant is a terrific writer. I tore through this book. "

-- Kristen Arnett, New York Times bestselling author of Stop Me If You've Heard This One

"When We Were Feral is a wildly astute story of thirteen-year-old girls, in a lakeside town in New England, who crash through their world with boldness, betrayals, and not much help. As we watch two motherless girls come into their own strategies of survival, the telling is both razor-sharp and sublimely wise. A rare and terrific novel."

-- Joan Silber, author of Mercy and Improvement

"The deep dark woods of being a thirteen-year-old girl are full of monsters, and Shasta Grant knows where they all are. She knows, too, that some of the most terrifying of these monsters live inside a girl's own skin. Maggie is a triumph, and her story is a powerful conjuring. She grabbed my whole heart and refused to let go. "

-- Clare Beams, author of The Illness Lesson and The Garden

"Shasta Grant conjures the languorous and charged summer days of girlhood in a thrilling manner that conceals and reveals, like moving from a canopied wilderness to a dazzling clearing in the woods. When We Were Feral is an unforgettable novel haunted by absent mothers, a dead teenager, and the disquietude of youth."

-- Michele Filgate, editor of What My Mother and I Don't Talk About and What My Father and I Don't Talk About

"Girls wouldn't need to be feral if their world wasn't also wild. But it very much is: mothers disappear, and girls grow secret lives under the surface. Shasta Grant renders a world that is both haunting and familiar, and When We Were Feral will return you to that first awareness that the world isn't what it seems. Maggie pokes at adult mysteries with the tender pain of poking a loose tooth. "

-- Sarah Elaine Smith, author of Marilou is Everywhere

"You will adore Maggie. As she and two unlikely friends set forth to make sense of the small town's haunting tragedies, chasing clues and crushes from New England's lake shore to its twisted woods, you'll cheer for them, fear for them, and feel every ache of their journey. Shasta Grant has penned a gut-wrenchingly honest portrayal of girlhood, expertly navigating class, sex, religion and wonderment. When We Were Feral explores the myriad ways girls search for strength in a world that tries to tame them--it's all about finding fire, claiming truth, and becoming wildly and unapologetically yourself. I can't wait for you all to meet her!"

-- Jolene McIlwain, author of Sidle Creek, an NPR and Library Journal best book of the year