Just Watch Me

Torenberg debuts with a bewitching tragicomedy about a young woman who takes drastic actions to raise money for her sister’s medical bills. Dell Danvers has just lost her job when she learns her younger sister, Daisy, is in a coma from an accidental drug overdose. The reader gathers from Dell, a spectacularly unreliable narrator, that Daisy has no brain activity and will be taken off life support unless her family can pay the hospital bills. To raise the money, Dell begins livestreaming her life, earning revenue by accepting dares from viewers, such as eating five jalapeño peppers. For her next round, she eats habaneros. The stunts earn her the attention of Patrick, a LiveCast blogger who makes his living eating spicy foods. Patrick invites her to collaborate with him, and they eat ghost pepper sauce on burgers and then actual ghost peppers together, garnering Dell more money toward her $14,000 goal. She faces trouble when she rejects the sexual advances of another blogger named Casper and he starts digging into her life. Dell might have a tenuous hold on reality, but she’s a captivating and endearing narrator. Readers will enjoy this wild ride. Agent: Aram Fox, Massie McQuilkin & Altman. (Jan.)