Sugar, Baby
The most intoxicating, UNMISSABLE debut of 2023
-
- $149.00
-
- $149.00
Descripción editorial
AS SEEN IN...
ELLE'S BEST SUMMER 2023 READS
GAL-DEM'S UNMISSABLE BOOKS OF 2023
NETGALLEY'S HOT SUMMER READS OF 2023
From the high-rises of Canary Wharf to the turquoise pools of Miami, Sugar, Baby is an intoxicating, darkly funny and shocking debut from an extraordinary new voice in fiction.
Agnes Green is turning 21 and her life is heading nowhere. Still living at home with her devoutly religious mother in a lifeless suburb, she works as a cleaner by day and spends her nights secretly going to clubs and dating Toby - who loves arthouse film, getting stoned, and ignoring her texts.
That is until she meets Emily, the daughter of one of her cleaning clients, who lives in London and works as a model - and a sugar baby. Emily's lifestyle is the escape Agnes has been longing for: tasting menus, private flights to Paris and Miami, rich older men who shower her with compliments and designer gifts.
Agnes' new life is beyond her wildest dreams, but it comes at a cost. As she begins to stray further from her mother's holy teachings, she must decide how far she is willing to go to be adored...
Everyone's talking about Sugar, Baby . . .
'Beautiful writing, fully fleshed out characters, and darkly funny. Obsessed.' Netgalley review
'Superb . . . an intimate deep-dive into the sugaring lifestyle' Netgalley review
'A rollercoaster of a read! Celine Saintclare is an author to watch out for' Netgalley review
'Absorbing . . . had me turning the pages until late in the evening' Netgalley review
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Saintclare debuts with a provocative tale of a 21-year-old cleaner drawn into sex work. Agnes, who is Black, cleans for a rich white woman named Camila and lives in a deteriorating suburb outside of London with her Pentecostal Christian mother, Constance. While on the job, Agnes rummages through Camila's adult daughter Emily's childhood room and steals a sky-blue suspender belt, before encountering the blonde and alluring Emily in the house. Emily sees potential in Agnes and offers to show her the ropes of high-paid "sugaring," in which a client pays for a steady relationship. After Agnes shares a night out with a client named Matthew, Constance catches her in a lie about babysitting for a cousin and kicks her out of the house. Agnes moves in with Emily and three models in their flat in South Kensington, where she transforms herself with lip injections, a new hairstyle, and borrowed clothes. Though she enjoys the work's perks—Matthew buys her an expensive bag and pays her handsomely in exchange for sex twice a month—the other end of the bargain begins to weigh on her. Things come to a head after Agnes travels to Miami with another client and is pushed into a compromising situation by his jealous wife. Saintclare is best when portraying sex work's mental toll on Agnes as she struggles to keep herself from having feelings for her clients and starts remembering Constance's "God is watching you" refrain. This powerful story makes Saintclare one to watch.
