Rory Ramos works as a ranch hand at the stable her stepfather manages in Topanga Canyon, California, a dry, dusty place reliant on horses and hierarchies. But with Rory away on assignment, Charlie knows she must unravel the truth for herself.A bold, riveting debut novel of desire, betrayal, and loss, centering on three teenage girls, a horse ranch, and the tragic accident that changes everything. Realizing that the key to her own existence lies in the secret of what really happened that unseasonably warm fall, Charlie is finally ready to ask questions about her mother’s past. Kept Animals is narrated by Rory’s daughter, Charlie, in 2015, more than twenty years after that fateful fire. Rory discovers photography, begins riding more competitively, and grows closer to gorgeous, mercurial Vivian, but despite her newfound sense of self, disaster lurks all around her: in the parched landscape, in her unruly desires, in her stepfather’s wrecked body and guilty conscience.One night, as the relationships among these teenagers come to a head, a forest fire tears through the canyon, and Rory’s life is changed forever. Rory keeps largely separate from the likes of the Prices-but, perched on her bedroom windowsill, Rory steals glimpses of Vivian swimming in her pool nearly every night.Īfter Rory’s stepfather is involved in a tragic car accident, the lives of Rory, June, and Vivian become inextricably bound together. While Rory draws the interest of out-and-proud June, she’s more intrigued by Vivian Price, the beautiful girl with the movie-star father who lives down the hill.

There she rides for the rich clientele, including twins June and Wade Fisk.

It’s 1993, and Rory Ramos works as a ranch hand at the stable her stepfather manages in Topanga Canyon, California, a dry, dusty place reliant on horses and hierarchies. “In this rugged and ravishing debut, a tragic car accident upends the lives of multiple Southern California families-particularly three teenage girls, whose lives and desires intersect in ways none of them could have imagined.” - Oprah DailyĪ bold, riveting debut novel of desire, betrayal, and loss, centering on three teenage girls, a horse ranch, and the accident that changes everything. And Kate Milliken knows her stuff when it comes to horses.” -Jeannette Walls, author of The Glass Castle and Half Broke Horses “ Kept Animals is a darkly beautiful book, tender yet powerful, an exquisite exploration of hurt and desire, the why of wanting, taking, and giving.

Longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize.

A Reader’s Digest Quarantine Book Club Pick.

Named a most anticipated novel by Oprah Daily, Vogue, Parade, The Millions, and Electric Lit

Kept animals by kate milliken