--- description: Find out why "The Rabbit Hutch" by Tess Gunty is on TIME's list of the must-read books of the year. title: 'The Rabbit Hutch' Is One of the 100 Must-Read Books of 2022 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4a78a2e7b75714af/698a37c2b3fce30e5e0c9e55/TheRabbitHutch.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Nov 14, 2022 # The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close  Blandine is an ethereal young woman living with three other teenagers in the Rabbit Hutch, a decrepit apartment complex in the Midwest. All four just got out of the foster-care system and are struggling to escape from the claustrophobic confines of the people and places that failed them. Blandine, in particular, is haunted by a mysterious past and a relationship that’s pushed her to a breaking point, the consequences of which play out over one week. Tess Gunty’s debut novel, which is a finalist for a National Book Award, is lush and melancholy, jumping between various points of view. It’s a meandering story that defies conventional structure and scope to offer a snapshot of one community’s grim reality. _—Angela Haupt_ **Buy Now**: _The Rabbit Hutch_ on [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/4973/9780593534663 "undefined") | [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3UmOWgs "undefined") **Contact us at** [letters@time.com](mailto:letters@time.com?subject=%28READER%20FEEDBACK%29%20Stay%20True&body=https%3A%2F%2Ftime.com%2Fcollection-post%2F6228627%2Fstay-true%2F "undefined")**.** ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2022/6228607/the-rabbit-hutch/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2022/6228607/the-rabbit-hutch/"},"headline":"The Rabbit Hutch","datePublished":"2022-11-14T12:53:31.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:10:47.410Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2022/6228607/the-rabbit-hutch/","keywords":["Books","list","best books"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4a78a2e7b75714af/698a37c2b3fce30e5e0c9e55/TheRabbitHutch.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4a78a2e7b75714af/698a37c2b3fce30e5e0c9e55/TheRabbitHutch.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2022/6228607/the-rabbit-hutch/","name":"The Rabbit Hutch"}}]}] ```