All Those Broken Angels

“The random shrieks, the constant burning, the occasional fainting. Just another day in the life of me.” Such has been the lot of 16-year-old Richard Anderson in the 10 years since his friend Melanie disappeared while they were playing hide-and-seek. Melanie was eventually declared dead, her parents moved away, and a ghost, whom Richard believes to be Melanie, became his only friend. At Savannah Arts Academy, Richard has been ostracized for his distant behavior and morbid artwork. When a new student arrives, claiming to be his long-lost friend, the ghost, an unpredictable, shadowlike presence, becomes angry and envious, even taking control of Richard’s body to insist that “I am Melanie.” Meanwhile, local girls are beginning to disappear, causing Richard to question the ghost’s identity and unfinished business. Richard’s pained first-person narration is occasionally interrupted by dispatches from an unnamed captive as Salomon (Henry Franks) creates the sensation of slipping between the worlds of the living and the dead. A complex, intense mystery that surprises and chills. Ages 12–up. Agent: Ammi-Joan Paquette, Erin Murphy Literary Agency. (Sept.)