After We Burned

Artistic high schooler Eden Randall is considered a weirdo among her classmates in Fenix, Colo. But that doesn’t matter to Eden; soon, she and her girlfriend, Payton Davis, will skip town, leaving their abusive home lives behind. The night the girls plan to leave, however, their high school burns down with Eden trapped inside. Convinced it wasn’t an accident, Payton enlists Eden’s best friend, Theo Robinson, a student reporter, to investigate. Their classmates aren’t thrilled by the sleuthing, and dark secrets and unexpected connections emerge as the duo dive deeper into their inquiry. Utilizing expert pacing and shocking reveals, Nijkamp (This Is Where It Ends) keeps readers on the edges of their seats, stringing them along as the narrative alternates between events leading up to the fire, the night itself, and its aftermath. Topics relating to physical and sexual abuse, bullying, and the ways powerful people leverage their influence combine in this dark, gritty story about coming together and empowering one another. Main characters read as white. Ages 14–up. Agent: Suzie Townsend, New Leaf Literary. (July)