Porcupines

Porcupines by Fran Fabriczki is a sharp, tender contemporary fiction novel about a mother and daughter trying to make a life in early 2000s Los Angeles while the past keeps tugging at the seams. Funny in places, quietly devastating in others, it’s the kind of family story that sneaks up on you.

Sonia is raising ten-year-old Mila in the sleepy LA suburbs, keeping her head down with a string of questionable side-hustles, a talent for avoidance, and birthday cakes with a little too much rum. Mila, stuck in the social minefield of school and after-school activities, wants answers—about her absent father, her mother’s childhood, and why Sonia seems allergic to being known.

As Mila engineers a road trip from LA to San Francisco, Porcupines moves between Budapest, Washington DC and California, exploring migration, identity, and mother–daughter bonds.

Perfect for readers who love literary fiction with humour, diaspora stories, and messy, lovable characters. Add it to your basket and let it surprise you.