Return to Sender

After three miserable years attending boarding school, 17-year-old Brodie McKellon is back in her small town of Warwick, where she’s known as the McKellon Felon for being a “wild child with a bad rep.” She’s thrilled to reunite with her beloved grandmother and childhood neighbor Elliot; she’s less thrilled to see Levi, her infuriatingly handsome former friend and current enemy. Now that she’s returned, she can focus on figuring out who stole the supposedly magical Adder Stone from the local museum and clear her name of the crime that led to her and Levi’s falling out. She’s also eager to investigate the identities of the three teenagers who lived in the town 20 years ago whose letters she acquired from her family’s Mail Redistribution Center. As Brodie learns more about Warwick and the people who inhabit it—and as secrets past and present intersect—she must navigate conflicting feelings about Levi. A lack of geographic and cultural specificity regarding Warwick and the surrounding locale somewhat dampen the emotional impact brought about by Brodie’s inquiry into its history, making for a meandering tale by Australian author Draper (Museum of Broken Things). Main characters read as white. Ages 13–up. Agent: Annabel Barker, Annabel Barker Agency. (Aug.)