About the Book Its 1997, and 14-year-old Juliet has it pretty good. But over the course of the next two years, she rapidly begins to unravel, finding herself in a downward trajectory of mental illness and self-destruction.-- Book Synopsis For fans of Ottessa Moshfegh, Juliet the Maniac is a worthy new entry in that pantheon of deconstruction ... Dazzling.-- NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW A cult-favorite stylist holds nothing back in this darkly funny, unromantic look at the underbelly of coming-of-age and its brutal trials... Juliet is a typical teenage girl--a little beast. Lingering just underneath Southern Californias sunny, sandy beach culture, one young woman struggles to survive herself as she hurtles through the mid 90s and tries to make sense of her on-and-off relationship with recovery. Juliet knows she should be poised for success. She knows her honors English teacher shouldnt be changing her grades from Fs to Cs out of pity, knows she shouldnt be snorting coke and chain-smoking at the Palms, knows she shouldnt be hallucinating shadowy, Joan-of-Arc-like messages from God. But there is something dark and violent inside of her fourteen-year-old heart that makes it impossible for Juliet to stop self-destructing. The two forced hospitalizations didnt help her, neither did the outpatient facility for gay, depressed art kids--maybe Redwood Trails therapeutic boarding school will? Through her Didion-esque lens, Escoria captures the brutality of girlhood--its fleeting, toxic friendships, the monstrous ways anger transforms, and the constant feeling of being close to normal, but not normal at all. Review Quotes Library Journal Mental Health Awareness Month Reading List 2024 A Bustle MOST ANTICIPATED NOVEL of 2019 A Nylon MOST ANTICIPATED NOVEL of 2019 an ambitious, piercing and often darkly funny book that leans heavily into autofiction and offers unflinching intertextual glimpses into a manic-depressive life. - ELECTRIC LITERATURE For fans of Ottessa Moshfegh, Juliet the Maniac is a worthy new entry in that pantheon of deconstruction ... Dazzling.-- NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW To read Juliet the Maniac is to confront our shared faith in the flawed logic of lifes meaning, and by so doing, become worthier of our humanity ... a gift to any reader who has ever lost control, sighted a horizon and began moving toward it. -- THE WASHINGTON POST Juliet the Maniac is a wild ride of a book, and I was rooting for Juliet every page along the way. --CHICAGO REVIEW OF BOOKS A force that shouldnt be ignored -- an illuminating examination of youth and soul-crushing pressure. --BUZZFEED [With] heft and a sense of authenticity, Escoria earns the readers trust early ... Juliet the Maniac is a heartfelt, raw, powerfully told story about surviving mental illness and learning to cope with inner demons. --NPR.org Escorias descriptions are moving ... Its the electricity that pulsates from within the prose. [A] fire burning inside. --BOMB Juliet Escoria has created a propulsive, addictive story ... told with a singular honesty; it can feel brutal--it burns--but its also illuminating, and a necessary counterpoint to all those teenage stories that marginalize the girl we actually want to read about. -- NYLON [An] exciting first novel ... Juliet the Maniac is one of those coming-of-age stories that will feel so darn personal, youll wonder if Escoria had a secret recording device in your own teenage heart. -- BUSTLE An author to watch. -- MICHAEL SCHAUB, LOS ANGELES TIMES Writing about emotional turmoil and addiction with a sharp, charged eloquence, Juliet Escoria ... is an up-and-coming author. -- THE A.V. CLUB Achingly accurate language, stripped down but beautiful, makes this story fresh and forthright. -- LIBRARY JOURNAL Searing ... reminiscent of Eve Babitzs work ... Escorias novel is a moving and intimate portrait of girlhood and mental illness. -- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY Vivid, fantastic imaginings ... of mental illness and disaffected youth. -- KIRKUS REVIEWS A startlingly honest tale of mental illness and addiction ... Escoria cements her status as one of the most powerful voices in independent literature. -- THE INDEPENDENT Escoria here delivers a coming-of-age novel about teenage life and mental illness thats also an explosive work of autofiction. With bold honesty, she tells an unforgettable story thats unhindered by romanticism in its unabashed portrayal of Juliets darkest struggles. -- BOOKLIST Escoria weaves a story that isnt just relatable to those with mental illness, but really illustrates what its like for those readers who dont have it ... Escorias writing traces the scars in this book with a gentle fingertip, capturing the moments with a dream-like clarity, watching them unfold, knowing what the consequences will be. --ENTROPY Brims with dark humor and empathy --POP SUGAR You dont want to miss Juliet the Maniac . .. Its a stunning portrayal of what its like to struggle with bipolar disorder, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts as a teenager. --HELLO GIGGLES A searing, harrowing tale of addiction, the teenage years, and antisocial behavior, all told with Escorias intense prose and a blend of tension and empathy. --VOL. 1 BROOKLYN Equal parts memoir and fiction, were given a peek inside the mind of a bright and accomplished teen--despite her perceived odds. Pro tip: Pick this one up when youre feeling lonely. (Youre not, well figure it out.) --HYPEBAE Juliet the Maniac is a dark, funny, and heartbreaking portrait of a young teenagers clash with mental illness and her battle toward understanding and recovery. --THE FANZINE A singularly beautiful piece of work--honest, unaffected, fascinating. -- NICO WALKER, author of Cherry Not since Kathy Acker has a writer given us such an unapologetic and dazzling view from the inside-out of adolescence. A voice and style triumph. A brilliant cry against cultural girl inscriptions. --LIDIA YUKNAVITCH, author of The Book of Joan Juliet Escorias voice is unmistakable: riveting, harrowing, and funny. In Juliet the Maniac , she tells a story about addiction and mental illness that subverts our expectations and reveals new truths about gender, power, and the unexpected ways we can both heal and be harmed. --EMILY GOULD, author of Friendship Juliet the Maniac is a late-nineties Bell Jar , a Girl, Interrupted in gloomy sunny Southern California, an autofiction from a former reform-school pirate princess. Teenage girls forever (and other people who exist, too): Read this book. --KATHERINE FAW, author of Ultraluminous About the Author Juliet Escorias debut novel Juliet the Maniac (2019) was named a best of book by Nylon, Elle, Buzzfeed, and others, and was shortlisted for the VCU Cabell First Novelist Prize. Her poetry collection Witch Hunt and story collection Black Cloud were both listed in various best of the year roundups. Her writing has been published in Prelude, VICE, The Fader, BOMB, and the New York Times . She was born in Australia, raised in San Diego, and currently lives in West Virginia, where she teaches English at a community college. Coming in June 2024 is You Are the Snake from Soft Skull. Witch Hunt and Black Cloud: New and Collected Works from CLASH Books was published in November 2023.