Exalted

“A brutally funny and observant ride through astrology culture, love, and self-discovery” (NYLON), in Anna Dorn’s riotous second novel two unforgettable characters are headed for collision. “Compulsively readable, this consistently shocks and delights” (Publishers Weekly, starred review).

Los Angeles-based cynic Emily Forrest runs @Exalted, Instagram’s bitchiest astrology meme account. Burned out on superficial listicles, Emily’s passion for astrology is waning, until she comes across a birth-chart that changes her mind. Beau Rubidoux’s chart is stunning: every planet is perfectly placed in its optimum sign, each placement exalted. She decides that this sceney photographer is the love of her life and can help her fulfill her true destiny: to be a star.

Meanwhile in Riverside, Dawn Webster has been dumped once again. At forty-eight, she is forced to return to the same restaurant where she started waiting tables at eighteen. With no girlfriend, no career, and her only son gone to Hollyweird, the once-vivacious Dawn is aimless and alone. Persona non-grata in the local lesbian scene, she guzzles cheap champagne and checks @Exalted to feel seen. A fiery Leo, Dawn believes one day she will get her due.

Alternating between Emily and Dawn’s very different points of view, Exalted is a deliciously dark novel about desire, loneliness, and the fantasies we project onto others when we’re desperate for love. A finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Fiction, Exalted is “an unforgettable read. Clear your schedule and consult your horoscope because Anna Dorn's novel will make you cackle and gasp, and you won’t be able to put it down” (Edan Lepucki).