It Happened to Anna

Her whole life, a formless ghost has haunted seventh grader Sadie Rivera, violently preventing her from making friends—when Sadie befriends classmate Anna, Anna dies under mysterious circumstances caused by Sadie’s ghost. Having moved with her father from Arizona to the small Idaho town where she was born, Sadie determines not to make another friend, until she meets charismatic Mal, whose presence somehow keeps the ghost at bay. Initially, Sadie is happy to have a friend without invoking the ghost’s wrath, but her relationship with Mal gradually grows toxic: Mal is jealous when Sadie bonds with others and encourages her to pull increasingly cruel pranks on their classmates. Sadie must now make a choice: forge her own path despite her fears or remain in Mal’s destructive thrall. Mejia (the Paola Santiago series) utilizes myriad horror elements to explore grief, anxiety, and depression, as well as dissociation and suicidal ideation. Though the central twist is heavily telegraphed, and Mal is somewhat underdeveloped, Sadie’s journey toward self-acceptance is unflinching yet encouraging in this spine-tingling ode to the bravery it takes to heal. Sadie is half white and half Mexican; other characters cue as white. Ages 8–12. Agent: Jim McCarthy, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret. (Aug.)