If You’re Lucky

Seventeen-year-old Georgia is the dark shadow to the bright star that was her free-spirited older brother, Lucky. When Lucky dies in a surfing accident in Australia, everyone in Georgia’s coastal Northern California town is deep in mourning—until a boy named Fin shows up, claiming to have been Lucky’s best friend, and charms everyone from Georgia’s parents to Lucky’s girlfriend. Soon Fin has taken hold of Lucky’s former life and all that went with it, causing Georgia to grow suspicious about his role in Lucky’s death. Her diagnosis as paranoid schizophrenic makes it difficult for anyone to give her suspicions any credit, however. As Georgia endeavors to separate truth from hallucination after she stops taking her medication, Prinz (The Vinyl Princess) forces readers to do the same. The story’s major conflict and the accompanying complications pressing in on Georgia are resolved in a blink, but Georgia’s suspicious mind is a fascinating place to spend time, and the steady internal monologue at the heart of this moody mystery will keep readers hooked. Ages 14–up. (Oct.)