Truthers

In this intense thriller, a young woman delves into the world of conspiracy theorists to help her father, who’s been remanded to a mental institution following a breakdown. Seventeen-year-old Katie Wallace is shocked when her father claims that she isn’t his daughter but is living proof of a government cover-up involving the 9/11 attacks. Though Katie doesn’t believe her father, her only hope of freeing him rests in finding some element of plausibility in his delusions. As her research brings her into contact with the truther movement and she uncovers shadowy clues and conflicting information, Katie wonders if she has stumbled across the sort of secrets people kill to hide. In exploring the complicated web of half-truths and audacious claims made by those who believe 9/11 was an inside job, Girard (Project Cain) takes readers down a disturbing, provocative path; both sides start to make sense as information is revealed and theories are debated. It’s a fast-paced nail-biter with a resourceful heroine, packed with surprises that force readers to question every revelation and take nothing at face value. Ages 12–up. Agent: Jess Regel, Foundry Literary + Media. (Aug.)