Damaged

“Straight A student, soccer star, full athletic scholarship to the University of Michigan in the fall.” That’s how 18-year-old Kinsey Cole lets people see her, even though she still feels broken and numb two months after a drunk truck driver hit her car, killing her best friend, Camille. When Camille’s boyfriend, Hunter, approaches Kinsey with the idea of running away to San Francisco, she surprises herself by jumping at the chance to flee her small Michigan town and her combative relationship with her unpredictable mother. Kinsey’s “sadistic drill sergeant” personality and Hunter’s anger at his father and heavy drinking make for a lot of conflict as they cross the country, but the biggest source of tension comes from Kinsey’s escalating encounters with Camille’s threatening ghost, which move from the realm of nightmares into nightmarish reality. While perhaps a few too many chapters end with Kinsey falling asleep, paving the way for dream sequences, Reed (Over You) presents a thoughtful portrait of survivor’s guilt and road-trip story about taking the risk of shedding one’s past. Ages 14–up. Agent: Amy Tipton, Signature Literary Agency. (Oct.)