Atomic Hearts

Everything was changing so fast. I didn’t know what was real.After an accident involving a bonfire and an aerosol canister sends Gertie to the hospital, she finds herself with nowhere to go but to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to live with her newly sober father. She sees it as a chance to escape the hometown drama she’s caused, but drama finds her all the same: parties without curfews, boys without boundaries, a compromising photo, tragedy back home . . . and her father, once again teetering on the edge of oblivion. Terrified of the consequences of being honest with Cindy, her sole refuge is the fantasy novel she’s writing, a portal to another world and the story of a young girl roaming a strange land, trusting her wits to survive.

"Gertie is a heroine for the ages--I challenge you to find a reader who doesn't fall in love with her dark humor, her vulnerability, her flaws, or her complicated affection for everyone around her. Atomic Hearts explodes with love and tenderness on every page."--Maria Kuznetsova, author of Something Unbelievable
"Emotional rawness leaps off the page . . . Gertie's voice is so well developed and nuanced; she's set to be one of the most memorable characters of the year."--Debutiful
"Heartfelt and harrowing . . . Reading Atomic Hearts feels like getting to crawl inside the mind of a quiet best friend."--Allison Larkin, author of The People We Keep
"A nuclear blast to the emotional core . . . Atomic Hearts is the kind of novel that will send you scrambling for your phone to call your best friend, your mom, your dad, and let them know how much they matter."--Nick Fuller Googins, author of The Great Transition
"[An] impressive debut novel . . . This works equally well as a gritty coming-of-age drama and an insightful story about the nature of writing."--Publishers Weekly, starred review
"This [feels] quite effortless, mostly through the power of [Cummins's] sharp prose and even sharper insights into, especially, the lives of teenage girls. A promising debut novel about the heavy presence of the past."--Kirkus Review