"Heartfelt, filled with humanity," this novel about an open adoption gone wrong reveals "the different forms of family bonds . . . [A] joy to read." —Elizabeth Strout, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Amy and Isabelle and Olive Kitteridge Sara is sixteen and pregnant. Her once-devoted boyfriend seems to have disappeared, so she decides her best and only option is an open adoption with George and Eva, a couple desperate for a child. After the birth it's clear Sara has a bond with the child that Eva can't seem to duplicate. When it seems that Sara cannot let go, Eva and George make a drastic decision, with devastating consequences for all of them. "Caroline Leavitt's writing is so fluid, her characters so well realized, I found myself reading Girls In Trouble nearly until the sun came up. When I was finished I felt as though I had made a new friend, and had stayed up all night listening to her stories." —Pam Houston, award-winning author of Cowboys are My Weakness "The characters in Girls in Trouble are blazingly knowable, and it is Leavitt's sympathy that gives her novel both its page-turning momentum and its dignity." — Washington Post "In this wrenching exploration of parent-child relationships, Leavitt captures the tensions and rhythms of family attachments. . . . Ripe for movie adaptation, this will appeal to fans of Jacqueline Mitchard's novels." — Booklist "An unflinching depiction of maternal need and the dynamics of adoption." — Publishers Weekly "Utterly engrossing and richly satisfying." —Margot Livesey, New York Times –bestselling author of The Boy in the Field