Exposure

Dellaira (In Search of Us) explores gender and racial power dynamics in her gripping debut. The narrative begins in 2004, when Black Chicago high schooler Noah King gets drunk with his creative writing instructor, a white college student named Juliette Marker, and goes home with her. Dellaira cuts the scene there, and a flash-forward reveals that, unbeknownst to Noah, Juliette will die two days later. The circumstances of Juliette’s death remain a mystery until the third act, when they’re uncovered in 2016 by Juliette’s best friend and lover Annie, who’s still racked with guilt over avoiding Juliette’s calls the day she died. A third plot thread tracks Noah’s departure from Chicago to Hollywood, where he starts a family with his novelist wife, Jesse. Now, he’s poised to break out as a screenwriter and director with the release of his much-anticipated debut film, which is based on his struggles after losing his mother at seven. Dellaira’s explorations of grief are complicated and wrenching, and she digs into multiple viewpoints to explore the complex issues that emerge once Juliette’s version of events with Noah comes to light. Readers of Celeste Ng should take note. Agent: Richard Florest, Rob Weisbach Creative. (Sept.)