The Edge of Falling

Last spring, Caggie (short for Mcalister) Caulfield lost her younger sister and saved a classmate named Kristen from jumping off a New York City building. As school starts up again, Caggie is no longer with her longtime boyfriend, Trevor; her father is absent; her mother is more superficial than ever; her older brother is acting weird; her best friend is attending another school; and there’s a mysterious new boy named Astor who keeps showing up everywhere she goes. Worse, everyone at Caggie’s private academy insists on congratulating Caggie for saving Kristen when she feels like anything but a hero. There’s something about that night on the roof that Caggie is holding back, and only she and Kristen know the truth. Serle’s (When You Were Mine) prose is lyrical and holds up well to the heavy emotions in this story. That Caggie’s name, dark moods, and Manhattan meanderings echo those of Salinger’s Holden Caulfield is intentional on the author’s part, driving the story’s momentum as her heroine reckons with the truth of her past. Ages 14–up. Agent: Mollie Glick, Foundry Literary + Media. (Mar.)