Rabbit Cake by Annie Hartnett

Elvis Babbitt has a head for the facts. She knows science proves yellow is the happiest color, that a healthy male giraffe weighs about 3,000 pounds, and that the naked mole rat is the longest-living rodent. She also knows she should grieve her mother, who recently drowned while sleepwalking, for exactly eighteen months.

But some things can’t be looked up. Like how to keep her sister Lizzie from poisoning herself while sleep-eating. Or why her father has started wearing her mother’s silk bathrobe around the house.

So Elvis does what any budding scientist would do. She investigates. Digging into the strange circumstances of her mother’s death, she finds comfort, if not answers, among the quirky people (and animals) of Freedom, Alabama.

This is a big-hearted, darkly funny novel about grief, family, and the stubborn endurance of humor after loss. Elvis is as hilarious a storyteller as she is heartbreakingly honest, and her voice is truly original. One page you’re laughing out loud. The next, you’re reaching for a tissue.

Here’s why we think it belongs on your shelf:

• An unforgettable narrator: precocious, fact-obsessed, and utterly lovable
• Humor with heart: a tender look at loss that never feels heavy-handed
• Perfect for book clubs: plenty to talk about, from family secrets to the odd ways we all cope
• Great for fans of quirky, voice-driven literary fiction

It’s the kind of book we love pressing into a customer’s hands with a knowing smile. Pick up a copy, find a sunny spot, and linger a while. Yellow is the happiest color, after all.

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