Ablaze

Krovatin (Darkness) crafts a Carrie variation for middle graders in this tensely written novel of superpowers run amok. The middle child between thoughtful nine-year-old Simon and popular 13-year-old Rachael, seventh grader Aly Theland keeps herself socially unaffiliated, hoping to stave off bullying. After regularly absorbing taunts with her head down, Aly feels ready “to burst, having bottled up so many of her feelings and opinions for the sake of going along, keeping the peace, staying unnoticed.” When her anger flares alongside a fire in science class, silencing one of her abusers, Aly feels something like catharsis and power alongside her fear. Subsequent blazes appear when her anger sparks, igniting Aly’s curiosity about pyrokinesis as well as growing confidence. But the fires strain her usually close sibling relationships and further alienate her from classmates, forcing the anguished girl to reexamine her social approach. Working in 1990s pop culture references that lend a nostalgic vibe, Krovatin tightly plots the events’ fallout, including heightened interpersonal tensions, in this twisty, psychologically unsettling read. Main characters default to white. Ages 9–12. Agent: John Cusick, Folio Literary. (Jan.)