Clever Girl by Tess Hadley

Tessa Hadley has done a good job with Clever Girl.

 Stella, the main character, a child born to a single mom in England, dad disappeared and Stella's mom doesn't tell her much..she is told he is dead, basically.
She loves being the only person in her mom's life, sleeping together in one bed, being close. But that euphoria is rudely interrupted by her mom's new husband, Gerry.
Stella is smart, but gets mixed up with a kid named Valentine who leads her down the path of alcohol, drugs, sex, quirkiness..until she ends up pregnant and he heads to America with out knowing he will be a dad. Single mom with one baby, she ends up in a commune , in a relationship with a great guy named Nicky, ends up pregnant with son number 2, but soon Nicky is murdered by a deranged friend of a friend….you suspect that Stella will never catch a break.
This book is so well written, it is like reading Stella's diary. While it may have started a bit slow, soon I did not want put it down. And at the last few words..I was hoping there will be a sequel.
The book is in book stores this month, and the way this winter is going, there appears to be plenty of time to spend curled up by the fire reading.