Strange Exit

In this postapocalyptic adventure set aboard a spaceship that houses the only survivors of a nuclear holocaust, a young woman continually delves into a virtual reality scenario to rescue the teens still trapped within its programming. Lake, 17, knows that the ship, which is swiftly breaking down and running short on supplies, can’t return to the Earth’s surface until everyone is released from the simulation. It’s getting harder, though, to find her companions in the virtual San Francisco they’ve created. Worse, odd glitches in the simulation mean that no one is safe, and Lake is risking her life by going back in. Even with a simulated version of her sister and the recently reawakened Taren to aid her, Lake may not be able to succeed before time runs out. As the story alternates between the dilapidated spaceship and the virtual world, Peevyhouse (The Echo Room) skillfully blurs boundaries and perceptions, with the simulation’s mutable reality hiding both questions and answers about what’s really transpiring. As Lake wonders about her own motives and secrets, the story becomes somewhat obscured in ambiguity, even as it explores the grief and trauma felt by these few survivors mourning their lost world. Ages 13–up. Agent: Ammi-Joan Paquette, Erin Murphy Literary Agency. (Jan.)