Each of the nine short stories in this debut collection by Orringer pleasantly surprises.

The cover of the book, in this respect, is misleading, and yet not misleading, as are all of Orringer's stories in their ability to portray something as light when it is also dark, as dark when it also contains light. The picture on the cover shows three pubescent girls swimming in a creek - at first glance, a simply charming scene, but then one sees they are swimming in their underclothes. They are beautiful, they are nearly women, and their innocent swimming takes on a sexuality that one does not expect (or want) to see in young girls.

The cover aptly sets the tone for Orringer's stories. They first appear to be harmless tales involving young women and quickly become stories dealing with the darkest aspects of young female experience.

Orringer's writing is refreshing. She is able to be, at the same time, earnest and darkly humorous. When she is funny, you laugh out loud, and yet the humor is not without underlying consequence. In "When She Is Old and I Am Famous," the character Mira describes herself as fat. "Have I mentioned yet that I am fat?" she narrates. "I am not skin or muscle or gristle or bone. What I am, the part of my body that I most am, is fat." Yes, this is partly funny, but it is also sad, honest, unfunny and awful.

Don't look for happy endings here. The endings that border on happiness are laced with sadness. Nothing is ever closed, no story ends; they only end scene.

Women, especially, will relate to the characters in this book. The overwhelming sense of worthlessness a young girl can feel when she isn't appreciated by those she appreciates...The strength that same girl must develop in order to go on... ...The fear of losing something you love, of worrying that the loss will be your fault, or knowing that fate is out of your control...All of these are captured knowingly in Orringer's book.

The stories are short, the longest one lasting just over 30 pages, and they are quick reads. Each character is unique in age, voice and disposition.

Don't let the Oprah's Book Club-looking cover fool you. This book is not trite. It packs a punch without rubbing its big, red gloves in your face.