A YA debut about a teen girl who wrestles with rumors, reputation, and her relationships with two brothers.
Seventeen-year-old Raychel is sleeping with two boys: her overachieving best friend Matt...and his slacker brother, Andrew. Raychel sneaks into Matt's bed after nightmares, but nothing ever happens. He doesn't even seem to realize she's a girl, except when he decides she needs rescuing. But Raychel doesn't want to be his girl anyway. She just needs his support as she deals with the classmate who assaulted her, the constant threat of her family's eviction, and the dream of college slipping quickly out of reach. Matt tries to help, but he doesn't really get it... and he'd never understand why she's fallen into a secret relationship with his brother. The friendships are a precarious balance, and when tragedy strikes, everything falls apart. Raychel has to decide which pieces she can pick up - and which ones are worth putting back together. Praise for After the Fall: Raychel's interactions with Carson raise important questions about what it means to consent to sexual activity. ?Kirkus Thought-provoking moments regarding such issues as female sexuality, racial microaggressions, and class differences add depth to the characters. Recommend to fans of character-driven novels such as Sara Zarr's How to Save a Life (2011) or Jennifer Niven's All the Bright Places (2015). --Booklist [H]art does a good job of handling her ambitious plot...Like Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak and Courtney Summers's All the Rage, this is an important novel for teens and adults to discuss together. --School Library Journal This memorable debut novel is told in the alternating perspectives of Raychel and Matt. Both characters are very well portrayed as complex characters with strengths and weaknesses. The supporting cast is also well developed, with most characters avoiding the trap of falling into mere stereotypes...This would be an excellent addition to most high school libraries. --VOYA, starred review In her remarkably crafted and unforgettable debut, Kate Hart proves herself a force to be reckoned with. After the Fall is a beautiful and brutal exploration of love, feminism, consent and identity; of who we are, who we think we are--and who we have the potential to be. Everyone should read this book. --Courtney Summers, author of All the Rage and This is Not a Test In After the Fall, Kate Hart will give words to girls who need them, and open the eyes of boys who need them, too. --E.K. Johnston, author of Exit, Pursued By A Bear, A Thousand Nights, and Star Wars: Ashoka Achingly real characters navigate the complexities of their everyday lives in After the Fall, an honest tale about love, lust, friendship, and the lines in between. --Mindy McGinnis, author of The Female of the Species and Not a Drop to Drink In her gorgeous and unflinching debut, Hart brilliantly unwinds the many facets of consent and entitlement, and the tragic ways these dynamics can play out, even among friends. Both heartbreaking and heartbreakingly relevant, After the Fall is a must-read. --Stephanie Kuehn, author of the Morris-Award-winning Charm & Strange
An Edgar Award finalist
A gripping and unforgettable story of survival after life in a cult, inspired by the survivors of the Branch Davidian siege in Waco, Texas, 1993
The things I've seen are burned into me, like scars that refuse to fade.
Before, she lived inside a fence with her family. After, she's trapped, now in a federal facility.
Before, she was never allowed to leave the property, never allowed to talk to Outsiders, never allowed to speak her mind. After, there are too many people asking questions, wanting to know what happened to her, trying to find out who she really is.
Before, she thought she was being protected from something. After, people are telling her that now she's finally safe.
She isn't sure what's better, before or after, all she knows is that there are questions she can't answer, and if everything she's been told is a lie, how can she know who's telling the truth now?
Suspenseful and moving, After the Fire is perfect for readers looking for
Praise for After the Fire:
Genuinely different...thrilling and spellbinding!--Patrick Ness, #1 New York Times bestselling author
The gripping story of survival and escape...It will keep you up late until you get to the very end.--Maureen Johnson, New York Times bestselling author of Truly Devious
A heartrending portrait of a young girl's struggle to survive a domineering religious sect and the resilience of the human spirit; this belongs on every YA shelf. --School Library Journal
The oceans stopped working before Willo was born, so the world of ice and snow is all he's ever known. He lives with his family deep in the wilderness, far from the government's controlling grasp. Willo's survival skills are put to the test when he arrives home one day to find his family gone. It could be the government; it could be scavengers--all Willo knows is he has to find refuge and his family. It is a journey that will take him into the city he's always avoided, with a girl who needs his help more than he knows.
S.D. Crockett on narrative voice and an especially cold winter:
What was your inspiration for After the Snow?
Well, apart from the unbelievably cold winter during which I was writing--in an unheated house, chopping logs and digging my car out of the snow; I think much of the inspiration for the settings in After the Snow came from my various travels.
In my twenties I worked as a timber buyer in the Caucasus Mountains of southern Russia, and that work led to travels in Eastern Europe and Armenia. As soon as I step off the plane in those places it smells like home.
It may sound strange to say, when After the Snow is set in Wales, but really the practical dilemmas in the book come directly from places I've been, people I've lived with, and the hardships I've seen endured with grace and capability. I was in Russia not long after the Soviet Union collapsed and I've seen society in freefall. Without realizing it at the time I think those experiences led me to dive into After the Snow with real passion.
What would western civilization look like with a few tumbles under its belt? What would happen if the things we took for granted disappeared? I wanted to write a gripping story about that scenario, but hardly felt that I was straying into fantasy in the detail.
What do you want readers to most remember about After the Snow?
We all have the capacity to survive, but in what manner? What do we turn to in those times of trouble? Those are the questions I would like people to contemplate after reading After the Snow.
How did Willo's unique voice come to you?
Willo's voice appeared in those crucial first few paragraphs. After that it just grew along with his world and the terrible situations that arise. I think his voice is in all of us. We don't understand, we try to make good--maybe we find ourselves.
How did you stay warm while writing this novel?
I banked up the fire--and was warmed by hopes of spring.
She escaped her kidnapper. But her trouble's just begun. After the Woods by Kim Savage is a chilling mystery about betrayal, survival, and the complex bonds of friendship, full of surprises at every turn.
Statistically speaking, girls like me don't come back when guys like Donald Jessup take us. Julia knows she beat the odds. She escaped the kidnapper who hunted her in the woods for two terrifying nights that she can't fully remember. Now it's one year later, and a dead girl turns up in those same woods. The terrible memories resurface, leaving Julia in a stupor at awkward moments-in front of gorgeous Kellan MacDougall, for example. At least Julia's not alone. Her best friend, Liv, was in the woods, too. When Julia got caught, Liv ran away. Is Liv's guilt over leaving Julia the reason she's starving herself? Is hooking up with Shane Cuthbert, an addict with an explosive temper, Liv's way of punishing herself for not having Julia's back? As the devastating truth about Liv becomes clear, Julia realizes the one person she thinks she knows best-Liv-is the person she knows least of all. And that after the woods was just the beginning. Praise for After the Woods: "A remarkable, engrossing debut about what it means to be a survivor and the many ways to take control of your own destiny." --Booklist, starred review "An entertaining mystery . . . that will appeal to fans of Law & Order-type plots." --School Library Journal
Statistically speaking, girls like me don't come back when guys like Donald Jessup take us.
Julia knows she beat the odds. She escaped the kidnapper who hunted her in the woods for two terrifying nights that she can't fully remember. Now it's one year later, and a dead girl turns up in those same woods. The terrible memories resurface, leaving Julia in a stupor at awkward moments-in front of gorgeous Kellan MacDougall, for example. At least Julia's not alone. Her best friend, Liv, was in the woods, too. When Julia got caught, Liv ran away. Is Liv's guilt over leaving Julia the reason she's starving herself? Is hooking up with Shane Cuthbert, an addict with an explosive temper, Liv's way of punishing herself for not having Julia's back? As the devastating truth about Liv becomes clear, Julia realizes the one person she thinks she knows best-Liv-is the person she knows least of all. And that after the woods was just the beginning.
Everyone is talking about Aftercare Instructions, Bonnie Pipkin's electric debut novel:
"Important, fierce. Pipkin stole my heart with this book." --A.S. King, author of Still Life with Tornado"Mighty, innovative, and nearly impossible to put down." --David Arnold, author of Kids of Appetite
"Incredibly honest and empathetic." --ALA Booklist
"Big-hearted, sensitive, and engrossing." --Publishers Weekly "Troubled." That's seventeen-year-old Genesis according to her small New Jersey town. She finds refuge and stability in her relationship with her boyfriend, Peter--until he abandons her at a Planned Parenthood clinic during their appointment to terminate an unwanted pregnancy. The betrayal causes Gen to question everything. As Gen pushes herself forward to find her new identity without Peter, she must also confront her most painful memories. Through the lens of an ongoing four act play within the novel, the fantasy of their undying love unravels line by line, scene by scene. Digging deeper into her past while exploring the underground theater world of New York City, she rediscovers a long forgotten dream. But it's when Gen lets go of her history, the one she thinks she knows, that she's finally able to embrace the complicated, chaotic true story of her life, and take center stage. Aftercare Instructions, a debut full of heart and hope, follows Gen on a big-hearted journey from dorm rooms to diners to underground theaters--and ultimately, right into readers' hearts.
Before I Fall meets "bah, humbug" in this contemporary YA reimagining of A Christmas Carol from New York Times bestselling author Cynthia Hand.
On Christmas Eve five years ago, seventeen-year-old Holly Chase was visited by three Ghosts who showed her how selfish and spoiled she'd become. They tried to convince her to mend her ways. She didn't. And then she died.
Now she's stuck working for the top-secret company Project Scrooge--as their latest Ghost of Christmas Past. So far, Holly's afterlife has been miserable. But this year's Scrooge is different. This year's Scrooge might change everything...
The Afterlife of Holly Chase is a witty, poignant, and insightful novel about life, love, and seizing second (or third) chances, perfect for readers who loved Before I Fall or Dash & Lily's Book of Dares.
Don't miss, Family of Liars, the eagerly anticipated prequel to the New York Times Bestselling phenomenon, We Were Liars. Available in May 2022!
Last summer, Alice Ogilvie's basketball-star boyfriend Steve dumped her. Then she disappeared for five days. She's not talking, so where she went and what happened to her is the biggest mystery in Castle Cove. Or it was, at least. But now, another one of Steve's girlfriends has vanished: Brooke Donovan, Alice's ex-best friend. And it doesn't look like Brooke will be coming back. . . Enter Iris Adams, Alice's tutor. Iris has her own reasons for wanting to disappear, though unlike Alice, she doesn't have the money or the means. That could be changed by the hefty reward Brooke's grandmother is offering to anyone who can share information about her granddaughter's whereabouts. The police are convinced Steve is the culprit, but Alice isn't so sure, and with Iris on her side, she just might be able to prove her theory. In order to get the reward and prove Steve's innocence, they need to figure out who killed Brooke Donovan. And luckily Alice has exactly what they need--the complete works of Agatha Christie. If there's anyone that can teach the girls how to solve a mystery it's the master herself. But the town of Castle Cove holds many secrets, and Alice and Iris have no idea how much danger they're about to walk into.