The Possibility of Somewhere

Eden’s mother abandoned the family when Eden was a child, her father is abusive and controlling, and the family is extremely poor. Day (a pseudonym for author Elizabeth Langston) gives Eden a killer intellect—she’s on track to become class valedictorian—and a brusque attitude she uses to keep the world at bay. But Eden’s longtime academic rival, Ash, and a new girl at school, Mundy, gradually chip away at Eden’s exterior until she lets them in. Even as Ash and Eden finally share their mutual romantic feelings, they keep their relationship secret. Ash is worried about his strict Indian parents, who don’t want him dating “white trash,” and Eden’s reasoning seems to stem from their longtime academic rivalry, until she eventually reveals it’s because of her father’s racism. Day’s story loses focus as the plot zigzags among the various dramas running through Eden’s relationships as she fights for a happy ending. This aside, Eden will lure readers with her willful refusal to allow poverty and hardship to define or limit her. Ages 12–up. Agent: Kevan Lyon, Marsal Lyon Literary. (Sept.)