Synopses & Reviews
"There's no horror flick or disaster movie scarier than a teenager's life. Erika T. Wurth writes about a young woman's longing with such heart and soul, it made me want to cry. Here she chronicles the poor with compassion and respect, and depicts their moments of joy with the only language worthy of such heights—poetry."—Sandra Cisneros, author of The House on Mango Street
"Erika T. Wurth's first novel, Crazy Horse's Girlfriend, is gritty and tough and sad beyond measure; but is also contains startling, heartfelt moments of hope and love. In my opinion, a writer can't do much better than that."—Donald Ray Pollock, author of Knockemstiff and The Devil All the Time
Margaritte is a sharp-tongued, drug-dealing, sixteen-year-old Native American floundering in a Colorado town crippled by poverty, unemployment, and drug abuse. She hates the burnout, futureless kids surrounding her and dreams that she and her unreliable new boyfriend can move far beyond the bright lights of Denver that float on the horizon before the daily suffocation of teen pregnancy eats her alive.
Erika T. Wurth is an Apache/Chickasaw/Cherokee raised on the outskirts of Denver. She is the writer-in-residence at the Institute of American Indian Arts and teaches creative writing at Western Illinois University. Her work is published in numerous journals, including Boulevard, Fiction, Pembroke, Florida Review, Stand, Cimarron Review, the Cape Rock, Southern California Review, and Drunken Boat. Her debut poetry collection, Indian Trains, was published by the University of New Mexico's West End Press.
Review
"There's no horror flick or disaster movie scarier than a teenager's life. Erika T. Wurth writes about a young woman's longing with such heart and soul, it made me want to cry. Here she chronicles the poor with compassion and respect, and depicts their moments of joy with the only language worthy of such heightspoetry."
Sandra Cisneros, author of The House on Mango Street
"Erika T. Wurth's first novel, Crazy Horse's Girlfriend, is gritty and tough and sad beyond measure; but is also contains startling, heartfelt moments of hope and love. In my opinion, a writer can't do much better than that."
Donald Ray Pollock, author of Knockemstiff and The Devil All the Time
"A compelling and affecting look at the ineluctable awfulness of some teens lives."
Booklist
"Wurth infuses her debut novel with impassioned teen spirit..."
Kirkus Reviews
"Wurth captures the violence and terrifying instability of domestic abuse with gritty language and emotional appeal."
Foreword Reviews
"Wurths raw, muscular writing takes the gritty story of a pregnant sixteen-year-old drug dealer and transforms bathos into a revelatory journey. Immensely compelling and readable."
Eden Robinson, author of Monkey Beach
"Erika T. Wurth's first novel is a knockoutpacking a raw punch of emotional truth that makes an unforgettable impact. I fell for her narrator, the tough urban Native who is alternately wise-cracking and vulnerable, a smart, engaging witness with a big bad beautiful heart."
Susan Power, author of Grassdancer
"[...]Wurth has created a plethora of hardened teens and their means of survival in unforgiving conditions. The story's protagonist narrator is Margaritte, whose insistence on not becoming a loser truly earmarks her as an underdog, as she struggles to go against the grain of her impoverished society. The language Wurth uses, which includes Lakota terminology, is raw and visceral, reflecting just how tough these teens are, especially Margaritte. [...] Kudos to Wurth for producing a gripping and heart-wrenching narrative that is not only a must read for young adult and older readers, but also a wonderful addition to Native American literature."
Story Circle Reviews
Synopsis
Margaritte, an American-Indian teenager trapped in the Denver suburbs, deals drugs, gets pregnant, and fights against a life she hates.
Synopsis
Margaritte is a sharp-tongued, drug-dealing, sixteen-year-old Native American floundering in a Colorado town crippled by poverty, unemployment, and drug abuse. She hates the burnout, futureless kids surrounding her and dreams that she and her unreliable new boyfriend can move far beyond the bright lights of Denver that float on the horizon before the daily suffocation of teen pregnancy eats her alive.
About the Author
Erika T. Wurth is Apache / Chickasaw / Cherokee and was raised on the outskirts of Denver. She teaches creative writing at Western Illinois University and was a writer-in-residence at the Institute of American Indian Arts. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in numerous journals, including
Boulevard, Fiction, Pembroke, Florida Review, Stand, Cimarron Review, The Cape Rock, Southern California Review and
Drunken Boat. Her debut collection of poetry,
Indian Trains, was published by The University of New Mexicos West End Press.