Oksana, Behave!

Praise

“The voice is so, so sharp and so funny that I am just like tickled—tickled!—to be reading it.”—Emma Straub, The Wall Street Journal

“Oksana, Behave! is an irresistible, irrepressible comic saga. I utterly loved every page.”—Anthony Marra, author of The Tsar of Love and Techno

“Kuznetsova’s standout debut offers a fresh and funny look into the life of a bold young immigrant woman. . . . This accomplished and frank work is a new take on an immigrant girl’s complicated coming-of-age.”—Publishers Weekly

“I love Russian-American coming-of-age stories, and this one is a doozy! Maria Kuznetsova writes like a dream!”—Gary Shteyngart, author of Lake Success

“An absolutely winning book by a genuinely new voice: fiendishly funny, cheerfully disobedient, and perfect in its rendition of the adult-world absurdities a young person must endure on the way to becoming an adult of her own. By the end, you’re a part of Oksana’s exquisitely drawn, nutso family.”—Boris Fishman, author of Don’t Let My Baby Do Rodeo

“Whip smart and ambitious, self-effacing and beholden to her various drives, hilarious and then tender, Ukrainian émigré Oksana Konnikova is coming of age in a ’90s America that is rapidly losing its way, and the one thing she refuses to do is behave. Maria Kuznetsova writes with great nuance and deep honesty about American girlhood, and her Oksana will win your heart and make you sit up and pay attention. This is a complex, beautifully rendered debut.”—Pam Houston, author of Deep Creek

“Like Oksana herself, this story is fierce, funny, brilliant, and irresistible. Kuznetsova has managed a neat trick here: a coming-of-age novel written with the perfect combination of longing and irreverence, and threaded through with wonderful surprises. I fell for Oksana hard and fast and I know you will, too.”—Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney, New York Times bestselling author of The Nest

“Oksana, Behave! is a remarkable novel. I was amazed by how each chapter both sped through time and narrowed in on the very moments that accumulate to make a life. I loved watching fiercely spirited and endlessly charming Oksana grow into a woman, while always remaining true to herself and to what matters most. Heartwarming and so hilarious that the poignancy and tenderness take you by surprise again and again, it was impossible not to root for Oksana, no matter how mischievous her adventure.”—Fatima Farheen Mirza, New York Times bestselling author of A Place for Us