Kirsty Capes – författare

**Longlisted for the Women''s Prize for Fiction 2022!**A COSMOPOLITAN, BBC, STYLIST, DAILY MAIL, GOOD HOUSEKEEPING and GUARDIAN BEST BOOK PICK!

''Astounding. Heart-breaking but hopeful, and a fresh new voice'' PANDORA SYKES''Moving and beautifully written'' LIBBY PAGE''A rare new talent'' THE GUARDIAN''A book that deserves to be a huge hit'' STYLIST''The literary equivalent of gold dust'' BENJAMIN ZEPHANIAH***

Sometimes it''s easy to fall between the cracks...

At 3.04 p.m. on a hot, sticky day in June, Bess finds out she''s pregnant. She could tell her social worker Henry, but he''s useless. She should tell her foster mother, Lisa, but she won''t understand.She really ought to tell Boy, but she hasn''t spoken to him in weeks. Bess knows more than anyone that love doesn''t come without conditions. But this isn''t a love story...

''A rare new talent'' THE GUARDIAN''

''So real, and so very moving'' JESSICA RYN

''A second heartfelt triumph'' ANSTEY HARRIS

Lucy Banbury is fine. Until she isn''t...

Lucy Banbury isn''t the sort of person that everyone gets along with - she''s prickly and secretive, and she likes things ordered ''just so''. But things couldn''t be going better for her - she swims three times a week, she''s on the cusp of a huge promotion at work and she''s dating someone perfect on paper.

But when she discovers at a family wedding that she''s adopted, her whole world is shattered. Those cracks she''s taken years to plaster over are beginning to surface and she''s not sure how much longer she can keep all her secrets hidden, all whilst pretending to be someone she''s not...

Because how can you pretend to love your life, when nobody loves you?

Praise for Kirsty Capes:

''Astounding. Heart-breaking but hopeful, and a fresh new voice'' PANDORA SYKES

''Made me laugh and cry in equal measure'' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

''A book that deserves to be a huge hit'' STYLIST

''The literary equivalent of gold dust'' BENJAMIN ZEPHANIAH

''A memorable portrayal of a family and damaged relationships. Richly rewarding, stand-out fiction''BERNARDINE EVARISTO''Every word has the touch of a genius'' BENJAMIN ZEPHANIAH''Expect to see this on every sun lounger this summer!'' THE SHIFT''A pin-sharp, propulsive story'' KIRAN MILLWOOD HARGRAVE''Daisy Jones and the Six fans will love this!'' GRAZIA''I was bereft when I finished. A contender for my books of the year list'' PRIMA''Bold, brilliant, shocking and shattering'' CHRIS WHITAKEREveryone has heard of Girls.But what happened to the women they became?At the time of her death, the press wrote many things about Ingrid Olssen:She was a brilliant artist. She was a terrible mother to her girls, Mattie and Nora. And that her legacy would live on forever.Even so, it''s unlikely the world will ever see another Ingrid Olssen exhibition - her last request to her daughters was to throw her ashes in the canyon and her paintings in the sea.But as Mattie and Nora reluctantly embark on an all-or-nothing trip to fulfil her wishes, they start to unpick the painful scars of their past.And soon they begin to realise that the ties that bound them, might also break them...Perfect for fans of Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason and Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid. GIRLS is as devastating as it is hilarious, as tender and moving as it is shocking - this is a book that will stay with you long after you have turned the final pages.** PRAISE FOR GIRLS **''A memorable portrayal of a family and damaged relationships painted with all the colour, ambition, texture and psychological complexity that makes for richly rewarding, stand-out fiction'' BERNARDINE EVARISTO''Bold, brilliant, shocking and shattering. GIRLS takes a beautiful, funny and moving look at family, loss, and the complex notion of forgiveness. I adored it.'' CHRIS WHITAKER''Every word has the touch of genius'' BENJAMIN ZEPHANIAH''A beautiful, rich, expansive novel. It''ll be a while before I stop crying'' JENNIE GODFREY''Beautifully written, tender, moving. I can''t say enough good things about it'' LOUISE O''NEILL''An ode to sisters, surviving and families. Loved it.'' PRIMA''I adored GIRLS by Kirsty Capes. The ending is brilliant & sad. The journey there is full of thrills & brilliant insights into the dark burden of the past, sisters & mothers, emotional damage & baggage. Five stars from me.'' GEORGINA MOORE''A funny, heartbreaking, astute look at art, trauma, the nature of celebrity, mothers, daughters, sisters and the awful things we do to each other. Expect to see this on every sunlounger this summer'' THE SHIFT''I can''t think when I last encountered a story world of this depth and faultless plausibility. Everything about it was perfect: intricate; warm; uncluttered'' ANSTEY HARRIS''A pin-sharp, propulsive story about connection and family, legacy and art'' KIRAN MILLWOOD HARGRAVE