Out of Eden

Johnson (Loserville) explores the human capacity for evil in this story of a family being stalked by a coldblooded murderer named Leopold, and his accomplice, Abraham. Seventeen-year-old Stony has been obsessed with the nature of evil ever since his grandmother was inexplicably murdered years earlier, and he gets a chance to see evil up close during a road trip from upstate New York to a New Hampshire condo with his divorced father, 15-year-old sister, and his father’s girlfriend. At a rest stop, Stony’s boorish father provokes Leopold and Abraham, who (unbeknownst to him) have already zeroed in on Stony as their next victim. The great majority of the narrative belongs to Stony, though occasional passages in italics give a glimpse inside Leopold’s twisted thoughts, upping the dramatic irony and overall tension. Johnson opts for a slow build (while the family has several run-ins with the killers, most of the action takes place in the final chapters), and his unwillingness to provide simple answers for Leopold’s actions leaves readers to contemplate the horror of meaningless violence. Ages 14–up. (Feb.)