Pre-Publication News

Included on Indie Next list for November 2025.

Named one of Amazon’s 10 Best Fiction Books of October.

Chosen by AppleBooks as one of the #BestBooks of October.

Named one of 10 Books to Read in October by the LA Times: “Originally intended as memoir… works brilliantly as a novel.”

Received a starred review in Shelf Awareness. Read the review here.

Received a starred review in Publisher’s Weekly. Read the review here.

Received a starred review in Library Journal. Read the review here.

Received a starred review in Kirkus Reviews. Read the review here.

Included in Joysauce’s fall reading round up: “The lives of two outspoken women unfold before the reader, resulting in a deeply vulnerable, poignant, and extraordinary life story.”

Listed in the Seattle Public Library’s New Fiction Roundup

Shout out in the San Francisco Chronicle for “Gish Jen’s scorchingly moving (though also funny!) 10th book, Bad Bad Girl.” 

Included in the LA Times’ 30 Books to Read This Fall: “Two generations of bad girls emerge as strong women and complete human beings.”

Included in the Boston Globe’s Best Fall Reading list: “Moving and healing.”

Included in Oprah Daily’s list of 25 Best Books of Fall: “Jen weaves an unexpectedly endearing portrait of two “bad bad girls.”

Included in the Toronto Star’s list of best fall books: “Jen reckons with her mother’s death. . .casting a wide and compassionate eye on the patterns that repeat over generations.”

Included in Kirkus Review’s Most Anticipated Books of the Fall.

Included in LitHub’s Ultimate Fall 2025 Reading List.

“Review” of the Wild Turkey (aka Meleagris gallopavo) in Believer magazine. Read the piece here.

Selected for Harvard Book Store’s “Signed First Editions” book club.

Selected for Odyssey Bookstore’s “Signed First Editions” book club.

Top of of Writer’s Digest’s 12 Books to Add to your TBR List for Fall.

Included in Book Browse’s 10 Books You’ll Love Reading in Fall 2025.

Listed among W Magazine’s 18 Must-Read Books for Fall.

Included in Dandelion Chandelier's list of Best New Books of October 2025.

Included by Camille Styles among the 20 Books We Can’t Stop Talking About.

Listed by Story Exchange in their feature, We’re Falling In Love With These 10 Books.

Shout out in Bookreporter.

Included by BookBub on their list of the Best Historical Fiction of Fall.