Three girls bond in unsettling ways when a grizzly starts picking off known abusers in their secluded mountain town in this darkly funny, deeply feminist novel for fans of books like The Honeys and Wilder Girls . When it comes to boys and bears, always choose the bear. The girls of Riverside are raised to grin and bear it. Until three of them can’t anymore. Megan Lawless (aka Outlaw): Riverside born and raised. Lettered in volleyball, basketball, and track. HATES Kevin Johnson, but tolerates him for her best friend, Megan. Megan Deloria: Outlaw’s ride or die. Riverside royalty and soon to be valedictorian. Shoo-in for the homecoming crown alongside her boyfriend, Kevin. Meghan Bach (aka Bee): Moved to Riverside last year. Still the “new girl.” Pulls tarot cards daily. Just wants to forget what happened last summer at that party with Kevin. And then there’s Kevin Johnson: Riverside’s Golden Boy. Only scared of two things—the dark and bears. Soon, he’ll be scared of three more. Because Megan, Megan, and Meghan are done with Kevin, and they’re about to teach everyone in their tiny rural town the new natural order: Predator, meet prey. “It’s been ages since I devoured a book this quickly.” —Karen M. McManus, #1 New York Times bestselling author of One of Us Is Lying “A story full of feminine rage and teeth and it will keep you glued to every page.” —C. G. Drews, New York Times bestselling author of Don’t Let the Forest In “A feminist revenge masterpiece” —Megan Lally, New York Times bestselling author of That’s Not My Name “Deeply readable, hilariously funny, and so eerily relevant to the world we live in.” —Kirsten King, author of A Good Person “Readers will be hunting for answers until the very last page.” —Megan Davidhizar, author of Silent Sister “Unflinching, and positively brilliant.” —Adrienne Tooley, author of There Are Ghosts Here “This is glorious, and you absolutely need to read it.” —Bar Fridman-Tell, author of Honeysuckle “A love letter to furious girlhood.” —Mary Roach, author of Seven for a Secret “A masterful debut and a skin-crawling, gory, vital punch of truly unique feminist horror.” —Logan-Ashley Kisner, author of Old Wounds “Scathingly brilliant, painfully relevant, and utterly addictive, Natural Selection sinks its claws in and never lets go.” —Kelsea Yu, Shirley Jackson Award nominee and author of It’s Only a Game “A ferociously furious wish-fulfillment fantasy of taking that power back.” —Codie Crowley, author of Body Count “ Natural Selection is the definition of ‘unputdownable.’” —Meg Smitherman, author of Entity and Thrum “A compulsive small-town thriller, filled with ice and tension.” —Holly Gramazio, New York Times bestselling author of The Husbands Clare Edge is an author (and witch) who was raised in the Rocky Mountains, where she learned to be “bear aware” before she was taught about “stranger danger.” She’s a huge theater nerd and a recovering academic and is rarely found without a tarot deck nearby. Clare’s cozy middle-grade fantasy series Accidental Demons was a New York Public Library Best Book for Kids and a Cybils Award finalist. Natural Selection is her debut novel for young adults. 1 Outlaw I freeze, shower-­damp skin prickling with alarm as I try to make sense of the familiar figure kneeling on the locker room dryer. One of his hands grips the cabinet door with white knuckles while the other is shoved down the front of his green sweats. “What the hell are you doing?” My voice bounces off the cinder block walls as Kevin’s head snaps around. The second he clocks me, he drops to the ground, slamming the cabinet shut. But I saw him. His face was shoved into the open cabinet where we keep the detergent and dryer sheets and bleach and shit. Now he’s playing it off like nothing’s wrong. He leans against the washer, cool as a cucumber. He crosses one leg over the other, running the hand that was just on his junk through his light brown curls, quirking his mouth in a smile. The same smile I’ve seen him use on Megan a thousand times. The smile that always fools her. But it doesn’t fool me. Never has. “Good practice?” Kevin asks, acting like I didn’t catch him doing . . . what, exactly? I’m not sure, but it was definitely sketchy. And his hand was definitely down his pants for more than just a quick itch. His eyes scan down my body, and I should feel self-­conscious. I’m wrapped in nothing but a towel, alone with my best friend’s boyfriend. But I’m basically the only girl in this town immune to his crooked smile, square jaw, and all-­American-­boy schtick. I’ve never been more grateful for that than in this moment. “What were you doing?” I repeat, ignoring his eyes lingering on my thighs. I’m tall—­the dinky little locker room towel barely covers my bush—­but I know all Kevin Johnson’s tricks and I won’t fall for a single one of them. “Just helping out with some laundry.” He steps toward me. We’re the s