A compelling story of toxic female friendship, obsession, grief and class divides. Agnès and Fabienne grow up in each other’s pockets in a rural French burg, though one is always more dominant than the other. Easily led and infatuated by her friend’s reckless energy, Agnès is forever the follower, while Fabienne sits aloof upon the pedestal Agnès builds her. But in the end, it is not Fabienne who will have the chance at fame and fortune, for Agnès is the prodigy and it her who will have the chance to leave the French countryside for a private English education.
 
Told entirely in retrospect, at the start of the novel Fabienne is already dead. Now in her 20s, Agnès must filter back through her memory and come to terms with all that their friendship was – and all that is wasn’t. A beguiling coming-of-age story and perfect book-club read.