Her debut collection paints a refreshingly surreal vision of small-town life... Selected by Granta as one of America's best young novelists, Russell is an intuitive writer with a gift for arresting prose

An exuberant collection; each story bursts forth from the pages with a cacophony of imagery that sweeps up the reader

Outrageously imaginative and profoundly funny... surreal... impressive in many ways... Her imagination is agile, like the body of a champion gymnast, and she lets it dance... Does anyone over here write like this, with such freedom, such vivacity? A wild and brilliant first book

Arcane, magical tales of adolescent transformation... reminiscent of Angela Carter but wonderfully confident and refreshing in its own right

Delights in the quirky...truly magical and creepy settings

Dazzling and moving

Ten hugely entertaining short stories - including the hilarious titular tale of 15 lupine adolescents - from hot young US writer Russell

Russell proves herself the heir to Angela Carter in this simply dazzling collection of short stories. With macabre humour, dark fantasy and a haunting tone this is unforgettable stuff - even just titles such as 'Lady Yeti And The Palace Of Artificial Snows' are staggering.

These 10 inventive stories, set mostly in the Florida Everglades, mix satire and sophisticated whimsy

Karen Russell has produced an engaging debut. Her ability to integrate mythology and the supernatural with the very contemporary...is reminiscent of Angela Carter, but unlike Carter's many imitators, Russell never descends into whimsy... In St Lucy's, humans, ghosts and animals are utterly real; and Russell sells the genuine article, a seemingly effortless writer

These are stories that will sneak into the back of your brain and lurk there long after you are finished reading.

Poignant and wonderful story...concentrates, without effort, all Malouf's themes...it needs to be read