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Content snapshot
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Violence
Very heavy
Romy bludgeons her stalker to death, and prison life supplies assaults, self-harm, and at least one death in custody
Language
Very heavy
Constant and coarse, appropriate to the strip club and the yard
Sexual Content
Very heavy
Extended depiction of stripping and lap-dance work, transactional sex, and sexual coercion both inside and outside the prison
Substance Use
Very heavy
Heavy — methamphetamine, heroin, and alcohol in the women's histories, and improvised intoxicants inside
Emotional Intensity
Life without parole, a mother permanently separated from her young son, and the grinding indifference of the carceral system
What this book is about
Romy Hall is serving life at Stanville Women's Correctional Facility for killing the man who stalked her from the strip club where she danced. Kirkus calls it "an unforgiving look at a brutal system" and notes that Kushner "does not flinch," with inmates whose backstories share "chaotic family backgrounds, heavy drug use, and sex work." Reviewers catalogue violence, sexual assault, substance abuse, and mental-health crises across the prison chapters, and note Romy's lawyer talking her out of mentioning the stalking because a sex worker will "get destroyed on cross-examination." Stephen King called it "jarring, horrible, compassionate, funny." Booker-shortlisted in 2018 and unambiguously an adult novel.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
Killing of a stalker and ongoing prison violence
Sex work, sexual coercion, and assault
Heavy drug use and permanent separation from a child
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