Amy Chelsea Stacie Dee

This gripping thriller from Thompson (Evil Fairies Love Hair) explores the aftermath of a shocking crime through the eyes of one of its survivors. Amy MacArthur was only 10 when she and her 12-year-old cousin, Dee, were kidnapped by a man named Kyle while playing by the river in their Oregon town. Now Amy is 16, and she has come home without Dee. It’s not the home she left: her parents are divorced, her younger brother can hardly look her in the eye, and her Aunt Hannah is frantic for news about Dee. Dee’s sister, Lee, takes Amy under her wing, and as Amy rediscovers how to live again, she gradually shares the story of the girls’ captivity. As the reason for Amy’s silence becomes horrifyingly clear, it proves increasingly difficult for her to hide the truth of Dee’s fate. Amy and Dee’s story is unthinkable, and their bond and struggle to survive is heart-wrenching. Thompson expertly builds the novel’s tension to an unbearable pitch as she guides readers to a bittersweet, satisfying conclusion. Ages 14–up. Agent: Kate McKean, Howard Morhaim Literary. (Oct.)