The words
Books can touch us in deep emotional caverns that we’ve hidden for years, or help us to see the world from a different perspective. This month’s selection does just that – plus, Lucy Atkins prompts us to take a leap and find a great agent
the retreat
PHOTOGRAPH: ISTOCK. FOR STOCKISTS, SEE PAGE 125
The Burning Girl
By Claire Messud (Fleet, £16.99)
EDITED BY ALI ROFF. MAIN REVIEWS: EITHNE FARRY.
Julia and Cassie have been best friends since nursery school, but in the way of teenagers, the friendship has foundered. Troubled Cassie – who has a fraught relationship with her mother – has started hanging out with the cool, mean kids, while Julia, with her feminist mum, is heading for college.