17 & Gone

Suma follows Imaginary Girls with another reality-blurring, psychologically complex mystery. Seventeen-year-old Lauren Woodman is haunted by a vision of a girl, also 17, who has gone missing from a nearby summer camp. In rapid succession, Lauren is confronted by the spirits and stories of other missing 17-year-old girls, all of whom manifest in a recurring dream she has about a burning, rundown house. Among those missing—and tormenting Lauren—is her former neighbor, Fiona, who disappeared one night while babysitting Lauren. As Lauren’s obsession with these girls grows, she pushes away the responsibilities of real life, along with her boyfriend and her mother, and readers are left to wonder what Lauren’s role is in these girls’ lives—is she meant to save them? Or something deeper and more sinister? Suma writes beautifully, drawing readers into Lauren’s story and her psyche with painstaking care until the story’s jolting conclusion. Through Lauren’s unraveling journey, readers learn firsthand what it’s like to question one’s own sanity. Ages 14–up. Agent: Michael Bourret, Dystel & Goderich Literary Management. (Mar.)