We Made It All Up

May 1, 2022
Kray's Defile is a place with charm. Just don't look too closely. When her father moves them to small-town Montana from Montreal so he can study bats in the nearby caves, high schooler Celeste Bergstein wants only to blend into the background. It's an opportunity to start over, free from a frightening and abusive relationship with the director of her drama workshop. With her new friend, fey orphan Vivvy Kray, Celeste starts writing stories about a steamy romance between two of their classmates--presumably straight golden boy Joss Thorssen and gay weed dealer Seth Larkin. The lines between fantasy and reality soon begin to blur, and Vivvy arranges for the four of them to get drunk in the woods near the caves. The next day, Joss is found murdered. With no memory of that night, Celeste has to figure out what happened before she ends up taking the fall for the crime. While investigating the caves with Vivvy's twin brother, Bram, they discover evidence of a long history of sinister activities by a group called the Defilers. Implicit sexual abuse is a recurring theme, as are psychological manipulation and self-harm. A reference to historical crimes against Indigenous people and accusations that undocumented workers at a meatpacking plant were responsible for Joss' murder contrast with the presumably White cast. The unreliable characters are well drawn, and the dialogue masterfully replicates the teenage voice. A polished tale that is twisted and disturbing. (Thriller. 14-18)

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May 30, 2022
Harrison (The Glare) artfully weaves subtle fantasy with contemporary psychological terror in a disconcerting thriller. High school junior Celeste Bergstein, who is Jewish, has moved with her divorced father from Montreal to Defile, Mont. She’s happy to be out of Montreal and far away from her drama workshop director, who stalked and abused her. Celeste eventually meets and befriends eccentric teen and town pariah Vivienne Kray, and the two spend their days writing fantastical love stories starring their combative classmates, hockey star Joss Thorsenn and local weed dealer Seth Larkin. Alternating between the present and two and a half months prior, the narrative culminates in a night of Celeste, Joss, Seth, and Vivvy drinking and playing spin the bottle at Kray Cave, a secluded hangout spot in the woods. At school the next day, they discover that Joss is dead, and Celeste, who cannot recall anything beyond kissing him, worries that she is somehow responsible for his death. Harrison thoughtfully explores themes of self-harm, psychological manipulation, and sexual violence using atmospheric writing, convincing dialogue, and a clever narrative structure in this eerie tale. Characters cue as white. Ages 14–up. Agent: Jessica Sinsheimer, Context Literary.

July 1, 2022

Gr 9 Up-Celeste moves to Montana with her dad for a fresh start and to get away from a troublesome person in Montreal. At her new school, she meets Vivvy and together they discover their mutual interest of writing fan fiction. The line between fantasy and reality begins to blur however when one of the real-life people they are writing about is murdered. Celeste was with the teen right before he died but doesn't remember what happened. Piecing together events becomes a challenge as she navigates through a web of secrets. As she attempts to uncover the truth, Celeste reflects on her fan fiction writing and how she put more of herself into her stories than she realized. The mystery comes together in a "Then" and "Now" structure, which leaves readers guessing as the time lines come together. Harrison provides a multitude of twists throughout the story but fails to fully develop her characters. Celeste's backstory is never clearly explained or resolved, leaving it feeling disjointed from the rest of the narrative. The concept of using fan fiction to help deal with trauma is unique and intriguing but can be uncomfortable at times. The race of the characters is not stated, but they cue white. VERDICT Readers looking for a mystery with deep subject matter would be better served reading works of authors like Tiffany D. Jackson.-Aliza Mangefrida

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July 1, 2022
Grades 9-12 Celeste moved to Kray's Defile, Montana, just as her junior year began, in order to escape an abusive relationship with her drama teacher back in Montreal. Now it is mid-November, and she wakes up on a park bench at 3 a.m. with no memory past kissing Joss Thorssen, the town's golden boy, following an alcohol-fueled game of spin the bottle. When Joss is found murdered outside the cave where they kissed--the cave where the in crowd of hockey players and powder-puffs girls regularly held some kind of sick initiation rite for a secret club--Celeste worries that she might have killed him. The novel alternates between now, after the murder, and then, the first week of school when Celeste found a friend in Vivienne Kray and the two began writing sexy stories featuring Joss with Seth, the school dealer. A plethora of legitimate suspects, well-placed red herrings, and the danger Celeste encounters as she investigates propel readers to the final reveal. This twisted, suspenseful murder mystery will hit the sweet spot for Karen McManus devotees.

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