Take All of Us

Something has been temporarily raising the dead of Kittakoop, W.Va., but “short and mousey and epileptic” 15-year-old Ian Chandler is more concerned with telling his best friend Eric that he’s in love with him. Before he can do it, however, an emergency evacuation alarm causes him to have a seizure, hit his head, and die. Like many before him, he comes back to life. With the rest of the town evacuated, he joins two living teens who were also left behind: organized Monica, who is chronically ill, and autistic Angel. As his body and mind decay, Ian and his new allies investigate what triggered the evacuation as well as what’s reanimating Kittakoop’s dead. Ian also searches for Eric, who just might love Ian back—and who is determined to mercy-kill him. Even as Ian learns to be angry at those he feels abandoned him, he finds comfort and empowerment in a community that encourages him to “take up space.” Sharp, surreal prose depicts gory scenes of body horror while quick pacing ferries Leif’s compassionate debut horror novel, a deliciously readable ode to disabled kids fighting for survival. Most characters cue as white; Monica reads as Black. Ages 14–up. Agent: Bibi Lewis, Ethan Ellenberg Literary. (June)