Breakup from Hell

High schooler Miguela Angeles’s life is turned upside down after she falls for gorgeous and mysterious stranger Sam in this paranormal lovers-to-enemies romance by Cardinal (the Five Midnights series). Mica feels as if she’s simply going through the motions—attending school and church and adhering to her strict religious abuela’s rules—until she starts dating Sam, a newcomer to her small Stowe, Vt., hometown. Though she must keep her fledgling relationship a secret from Abuela, Sam almost effortlessly charms Mica’s friends. As their whirlwind romance unfolds, however, a host of bizarre supernatural phenomena occur to Mica and her friend group, including Mica exhibiting uncanny feats of athleticism and her friends suddenly experiencing nightmarish visions. When Abuela shares long-buried family secrets steeped in Catholicism that hint at Sam’s past, Mica and her friends must work together to prevent the destruction of everything she loves, even if it means sacrificing her relationship. Uneven pacing sometimes slows the plot, but Cardinal cleverly subverts Catholic lore via a magnetic protagonist whose complex connection with her heritage and developing relationships, particularly with her abuela, elevate this imaginative supernatural adventure. Mica is Puerto Rican; Sam presents as white. Ages 13–up. Agent: Linda Camacho, Gallt & Zacker Literary. (Jan.)