The Last Days of California

”[A] terrific first novel… Why worry about labeling a book this good? Just read it.” – The New York Times Book Review“A plangent portrait of American adolescence… [Miller delivers] raw the heartbreaking futility of the Metcalfs’ small triumphs, private embarrassments, and poor decisions with such hilarious precision that you become completely involved in their struggles—and, ultimately, in awe of their abiding hope.” – Elle“The set-up of the story in Mary Miller’s debut novel is clever and alluring, and what follows does not disappoint – a sharp, sensuously-written road tale that is both a satirical vision of a grotesque society and a down-to-earth coming-of-age narrative told by an appealing anti-heroine who is determined to stay hopeful against all the apocalyptic odds.” – The Irish Times

Mary Miller is the author of the short story collection Big World. Her work has been published in Mcsweeney’s Quarterly, American Short Fiction, the Oxford American, and other journals. A former Michener Fellow in Fiction at the University of Texas, she currently serves as the John and Renee Grisham Writer in Residence at the University of Mississippi. This is her first novel.