Corsica, 1993. As a sun-drenched Mediterranean summer heads into full swing, beautiful and brash seventeen-year-old Séverine Guimard is counting down the days until graduation, dreaming of stardom while smoking cigarettes and seducing boys in her class to pass the time. The pampered French-American daughter of a politician, Séverine knows she’s destined for bigger things.

That is, until one night, Séverine is snatched off her bike by a militant trio fighting for Corsican independence and held for a large ransom. When the men fumble negotiating her release, the four become unlikely housemates deep in the island’s remote interior. Eager to gain the upper hand, Séverine sets out to charm her captors, and soon, the handsome, intellectual leader, Bruno, the gentle university student, Tittu, and even the gruff, unflappable Petru grow to enjoy the company of their headstrong hostage.

As Séverine is exposed to the group’s political philosophy, the ideas of Marx and Fanon begin to take root. With her flair for the spotlight and newfound beliefs, Séverine becomes the face of a radical movement for a global TV audience. What follows is a summer of passion and terror, careening toward an inevitable, explosive conclusion, as Séverine steps into the biggest role of her life.

The word “explosive” is an old standby in book blurbs, but The Bombshell is perhaps the most genuinely explosive book I’ve ever read—both literally and figuratively. Sharply characterized and thought-provoking, it’s a debut like nothing you’ve ever read before.

Set in 1990s Corsica, The Bombshell tells the story of Séverine, a brilliant-yet-spoiled French teenager whose life is safely contained within the dull, elitist social spheres of her politician father. When a Corsican independence group kidnaps Séverine for ransom, she expects to be back in the arms of her family within a few days. But her captors’ demand for ransom goes unmet, and in the subsequent tense weeks of imprisonment, Séverine grows increasingly fascinated with their revolutionary ideals—and her own starring role in the bloody drama that’s poised to begin.

Reading this book feels like watching an old Hollywood movie or cracking open a 19th-century novel: romantic, dramatic, and bone-rattlingly good. If you’re looking to be swept away by a dazzling tour de force of plot and character, look no further than The Bombshell this May.