Growing up is hard to do – and much harder when you are exceptionally larger than anybody else in town. Destiny has even more cruelties in store for Truly Plaice: a life of poverty, family strife and a malignant, codependant relationship with the town tyrant – the only medic. Yet when Truly discovers the secret language within the botanical patterns on an ancestral quilt she finds she has more power than she’d ever imagined. Yes, this is a quirky novel, but it is by no means light.

The lack of connection between the well-drawn characters often extends to downright cruelty, and death and disease plague Truly’s world. Truly wears her losses with a realist’s steely determination to just get through and in so doing gains the love she deserves. Baker excels at original, descriptive language that never feels overworked, creating Truly’s unique and often bitingly funny worldview. It is hard to believe this is a debut – Baker’s prose is so assured that it often stops you just to admire it. She is the queen of simile and metaphor, connecting different facets of the world seamlessly. An enjoyable, accessible read.