Breathe My Name

In a sad, haunting story of murder and its tragic aftermath, 18-year-old Frances Robinson seems to have a picture-perfect life in tiny Bethel, Ala., complete with a loving family, a fun-loving best friend and even a cute new boyfriend. But beneath this happy façade lies a dark and ugly past: 11 years ago, her mother gradually descended into insanity and one day suffocated Frances's three younger sisters; Frances escaped death only because a passerby came to her rescue. Now, safe and secure with her adopted family, Frances struggles to move on and forget her survivor's guilt. But all the terrible memories come crashing back when she learns that her mother has been released from prison and placed in a halfway home—and wants to see Frances. “I need to see you,” she writes from her undisclosed location. “We have to finish.” Deciding that she can't fully embrace her future without confronting her past, Frances and her boyfriend, Nix, secretly take off on a road trip to find her mother. The story captivates at times, but progresses awkwardly. The flashbacks to Frances's childhood disrupt the pacing at the beginning, but most are too brief for readers to glean significant insight from them. The momentum picks up considerably when the teens set off on their journey, but the curve-ball conclusion isn't remotely plausible. Ages 14-up. (Nov.)