Nothing Left to Burn

Ezell's prescient debut novel, about a teen girl whose Northern California neighborhood is evacuated in advance of an encroaching wildfire, captures the confusion and chaos that arises as a result of disaster. The menacing backdrop of the fires provides a constant source of tension amid other dramas in Audrey's life, including her sister's illness and her new relationship with her older firefighter boyfriend, Brooks. Audrey's first-person narrative shifts from present-day to the recent past, creating a structure that, while occasionally confusing, effectively conveys Audrey's disorientation. At the heart of this novel are frightening questions about trust, as Audrey begins to doubt Brooks. In a somewhat predictable turn of events, Brooks's terrible secrets become Audrey's, too, and she is forced to choose between her loyalty to her community and burgeoning romance. Ages 12-up. Agent: Sarah Davies, Greenhouse Literary. (Mar.)