They share countless perfect memories—and one they wish they could forget.

Childhood friends Hannah, Maya, Blue and Renee share a bond that feels more like family. Growing up, they had difficult home lives, and the summers they spent vacationing together in Montauk were the happiest memories they ever made—campfires on the beach, salt-spray hair and the effervescent excitement of the bright future ahead. Then, the summer after graduation, one terrible night changed everything.

Twelve years have passed since that fateful incident, and during that time, their sisterhood has drifted apart, each woman haunted by her own lost innocence. But just as they reunite in Montauk for one last summer together, hoping to heal those wounds and find happiness once more, tragedy strikes again. This time it’ll test them like never before, forcing them to confront decisions they’ve each had to live with and old secrets that refuse to stay buried.

Told with lyrical prose and sharp insights into human nature, East Coast Girls unveils the dark truths that can threaten even the deepest friendships and the unconditional love that makes them stronger than ever.

"Kerry Kletter’s East Coast Girls is a mix of gorgeous writing and page-turning suspense as four friends enjoy summer pleasures that lead to terrible mistakes, desperate choices, and, as we all hope from the ones we love, the grace of forgiveness." —Nancy Thayer, New York Times bestselling author of Surfside Sisters

“East Coast Girls is a dazzling and thoughtful beach read that brings to life the unique friendship of four unforgettable characters, a gorgeous Montauk setting, and a driving mystery that touches on timely feminist themes. Readers of Elin Hilderbrand and J Courtney Sullivan will devour this book.” —Brenda Novak, New York Times bestselling author of One Perfect Summer

“A powerful and compassionate story where young lives are forever altered in the aftermath of tragedy. Beautifully layered with hope, sorrow, and keen observations into the complexities of the heart.” —Beth Hoffman, New York Times bestselling author of Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

"With lush prose and poignant reflections on fate, forks in the road, and the power of female friendships, East Coast Girls is a book whose pages demand to be both snuck in under the covers late into the night and savored. I've already made a permanent place for it right beside Judy Blume's Summer Sisters in the bookshelf of my heart." —Chandler Baker, New York Times bestselling author of Whisper Network

“With equal parts true grit and big heart, East Coast Girls is an unputdownable exploration of the enduring bonds—and unexpected tests—of friendship, love, and who we are deep down.” —Mia March, author of The Meryl Streep Movie Club

"A brilliant firecracker of a book. East Coast Girls perfectly captures that time in a girl's life when friendship and the summer sun is enough to make you feel invincible––and the fallout when you realize that you're not. A beautiful, heartfelt, and life-affirming story about the things worth holding onto and those moments when you just have to let go." ––Emily Henry, author of Beach Read

Cassie O’Malley has spent the past two and a half years in a mental institution — dumped there by her mother, against her will. Now, at 18, Cassie emancipates herself, determined to start over and reclaim her life. But when the unhealthy mother-daughter relationship that defined Cassie’s childhood and adolescence threatens to pull her under once again, Cassie must decide: whose version of history is the truth, and whose life must she save?

A bold, literary story about the fragility of family, forgiveness, and learning to love oneself, The First Time She Drowned reminds us that we must dive deep into our pasts if we are ever to truly understand ourselves and move forward.

"Beautiful and passionate . . . [Kletter is] a writer of great distinction and infinite promise." — Pat Conroy, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Prince of Tides and South of Broad

"Kerry Kletter’s The First Time She Drowned is the kind of book I love best—a lovely and haunting keep-you-up-all-night heart-wrencher that is both beautiful and raw, painful and uplifting. It’s utterly amazing. An incredible read. Be warned though—you will want to read Cassie’s story, start to finish, in one sitting. And then you will want to race to put it in the hands (and hearts) of everyone you know and love." —Jennifer Niven, New York Times bestselling author of All the Bright Places

"The First Time She Drowned is an exquisite and masterful dive, a brave exploration into the complexities of family, and the saving grace of friendship. Kletter’s writing is hypnotic, her characters alive, her story tragic, beautiful, hopeful. Simply put, this book is stunning." —David Arnold, critically acclaimed author of Mosquitoland

"The best writers are able to tell the most difficult stories with the most empathy, and that’s just what Kletter does in this haunting debut about a girl lost in the depths of her family’s secrets and shame. Complex, affirming, and beautifully written." —Stephanie Kuehn, author of the Morris Award-winning Charm & Strange

"Sentence by sentence . . . one of the most lyrical novels I’ve ever read. Haunting and exquisite." — Nicola Yoon, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Everything, Everything

"Gorgeous, sumptuously lyrical, luminous…a feast for lovers of language. The First Time She Drowned singlehandedly shatters every argument that YA books aren't fit fare for adults." — Jeff Zentner, author of The Serpent King