Leigh N. Gallagher

"Told in three distinct, brilliantly interlocking narratives, Leigh Gallagher's WHO YOU MIGHT BE is a fiercely original debut novel that takes readers from 1990s Southern California to a UFOlogist holdout in the Nevada desert, the graffiti underworld of Detroit, and the self-important Brooklyn art scene to present an unflinching examination of trauma"--

A Novel

Who You Might Be

“Dazzling...Who You Might Be is a brilliant, splintery coming-of-age novel that perfectly captures the nervous thrum of adolescence and the unnerving fragility of adulthood. Gallagher is so acutely attuned to the lies (and secrets) we tell (and keep from) ourselves and others. It puts me in mind of Emma Cline and Rachel Kushner.”—Award-winning author Peter Ho Davies A fiercely original and propulsive debut novel about the unexpected turns in life that ultimately determine who we become. It’s the late nineties—the dawn of the internet—and Judy and Meghan have lied to their mothers and run away for the weekend, to see a girl they’ve met in a chat room. Meanwhile, twelve-year-old Cassie, desperately clinging to childhood hopes, travels deep into the Nevada desert to reunite with her real mother at a strange and isolated compound. And, across the country, Caleb, an entitled teenager, is miserable following his family’s move from upper-crust San Francisco to boring Ann Arbor—until, emboldened by privilege, his tours of blighted Detroit become graffiti-writing escapades, with his faithful little brother in tow. Each of these adventures derails in severe, alarming ways, only to resurface and collide two decades later in an unforgettable finale that explores the power—and limits—of the narratives that come to define us. Deftly written and peopled with precisely drawn, indelible characters pushed to great extremes, Leigh N. Gallagher's Who You Might Be considers the ramifications of life’s most trying encounters and the resilience it takes to determine for ourselves who we might be.

A fiercely original debut told in three distinct, interlocking narratives, Who You Might Be opens in 1990s California when adolescent friends Judy and Meghan run away for the weekend. It’s the dawn of internet culture, and Meghan is eager to meet her new chat room acquaintance, Cassie, in person—despite Judy’s reservations. But when the girls arrive at the given address, Cassie is nowhere to be found, and the house they enter is a stranger’s. Before their derailed adventure ends, Judy will be forced to confront startling truths about herself, her relationships, and the many forms danger can take. Meanwhile, across the country, Caleb, an entitled teenager, and Miles, his sensitive and loyal younger brother, are both miserable following their family’s move from San Francisco to Ann Arbor. Driven by boredom, Caleb begins exploring a blighted Detroit, where he meets Tez, a seasoned local tagger with a complicated past. Caleb’s embrace of graffiti writing isn’t without risk, however, and ultimately it’s Miles, blinded by new love, who finds himself in jeopardy. Years later, these seemingly unrelated stories collide in 2016 Brooklyn in a finale that explores the power—and limits—of the narratives that come to define us. Peopled with precisely drawn, indelible characters pushed to great extremes, at its core Who You Might Be asks how well we know even those closest to us, and how, ultimately, we find the resilience to determine for ourselves who we might be.

Leigh N. Gallagher

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