Plum

“You wish to never see a plum again in your life… You think: When I am an adult, I will never have a fruit tree. I will never be like this.”

For fans of Sarah Rose Etter and Scott McClanahan, Plum is a darkly beautiful, unflinching novel about modern girlhood in the internet age, the daily toll of trauma, and the limits of love.

Told entirely in the second person, Plum follows J as she grows from kid to teen in a house ruled by her alcoholic dad and complicit mother. Her older brother is sometimes wonderful, sometimes gross, and he’s her only hope of getting out. J’s world is one of nail polish, above-ground pools, and drive-thrus—and of violence, carelessness, and so many rules. J covets the peace that comes when she slips on her headphones, turns on her handheld radio, and dreams of how she and her brother can make their escape.

When her brother leaves home and disappears, so does J’s best chance to flee her parents’ chaotic orbit. Alone and angry, J reaches through her computer screen for the life she wants: blonde hair, glittering nails, attention, freedom. As she stumbles into adulthood with no template to follow, J must figure out how to build a family for herself full of the love she deserves. In her brutally compelling debut, Anderegg turns her singular gaze on the generational patterns of addiction and abuse.

Praise for Plum

“Andy Anderegg must have had her whole heart in her hands when she wrote this beautiful, devastating book about loss and abuse and siblinghood and survival. The language and style are so fully her own, a new exhilarating voice, you won’t be able to stop reading. I couldn’t. I inhaled it.” —Deb Olin Unferth, author of Barn 8

“Plum is a truly original, tender, and heart-searing novel about the secrets we keep, all the ways a soul can be broken, and the lies we have to tell ourselves to move on. Andy Anderegg so beautifully captures the wrenching pain and wild joys of growing up and learning how to survive, and how to make a real, big life for yourself. I will never stop thinking about this book, it's forever imprinted on my heart.” —Crissy Van Meter, author of Creatures

“Plum is an intimate exploration of abuse and the winding path toward healing. It captures the struggle of growing up in a hostile environment and the painful process of self-discovery and acceptance. As J starts to confront her past rather than evade it, the narrative evolves into a reflection on survival, the complexities of human connections, and the long road to recovery.” —Lola Lee, Independent Book Review