Eating the Cheshire Cat - by Helen Ellis (Paperback)

About the Book

Three girls are navigating the treacherous passages of adolescence in this Southern gothic novel. Weaving their intersecting schemes, Ellis creates a hilarious, often shocking and violent parody of Southern life and of the rivalries, wickedness, and outrageous behavior familiar to the teen experience.

Book Synopsis

The debut novel from the author of Kiss Me in the Coral Lounge, a fast-paced and unforgettable reinvention of Southern gothic set in Alabama.

In Tuscaloosa, Alabama, beauty is as beauty does, with axes and knives and killer smiles.

Sarina Summers and her mother will stop at nothing to have it all. Nicole Hicks harbors a fierce obsession with Sarina, which repeatedly undermines Mrs. Hicks's ambitious goals. Bitty Jack Carlson, a nice girl from the wrong side of the tracks, is caught in the crossfire but struggles to succeed outside the confines of this outrageous yet eerily familiar Southern community. It's survival of the fittest. Which girl will come out on top?

Eating the Cheshire Cat lures readers into a world of perfectly planned parties and steep social ladders, where traditional rites of passage take unpredictable and horrifying turns as the dreams of three girls and their overbearing mothers collide. Traipsing from summer camp to the University of Alabama's Homecoming game, this fast-paced and unforgettable novel will keep readers guessing until the bitter end.

Review Quotes

"A darkly funny gothic novel...deliciously catty." --Jacqueline Pray, USA Today

"This breezy tale about old-fashioned back-stabbing in the New South is meant to be gobbled up....Ellis entertains as easily as whistling "Dixie."" --Mark Rozzo, Los Angeles Times

"This...comic novel gleefully takes on Southern stereotypes, teenage rituals...and even the hallowed relationship between mother and daughter." -- Don O'Briant, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"A wicked look at the wacked world of Southern social climbing...hilarious." --Cathi Hanauer, Mademoiselle

About the Author

Helen Ellis was raised in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and holds a master's degree in fiction writing from New York University. Her stories have been published in "Southern Exposure" and "The New York Press." She lives in New York City.