About five years ago you might have heard about Mary Karr’s debut memoir The Liar’s Club, which rode the top of The New York Times bestseller list for months. Now you can pick up where you left off in this follow-up, and it is definitely worthy of its predecessor. This is the story of Karr’s adolescence in a small Texas town—she is the daughter of a loving but mostly whisky-soaked father and an intellectual and very eccentric mother. Even though Karr’s experiences are by no means universal (she rides a fairly dangerous roller-coaster of sex and drugs), she uses the very language of the memoir to make even the most outlandish situation seem familiar and personal. But of course, Karr also tackles the most down-to-earth issues as well, those that every woman can relate to, like waiting for your breasts to grow or feeling the rush of a first kiss. This memoir is shocking at times, and it is almost always funny. Karr’s Texas drawl oozes through every sentence, and she also integrates her amazing skill at lyrical poetry to create something truly exhilarating. The ride of Karr’s life is something you just shouldn’t miss.