Drawn Away by Holly Bennett (review)

Twelfth-graders Jack and Lucy are pretty happy they’ve found each other—he’s the new guy, she’s the weird girl, but more importantly, they’ve both recently had a run-in with a ghost. Jack dozed off in math class and found himself on a dark, cobblestoned street where a girl was selling matches and calling out to him, while Lucy’s encounter felt a bit more menacing, with just an empty-eyed apparition calling out Jack’s name. There’s nothing like a scary experience to solidify a friendship (though both Jack and Lucy are hoping for more), and the pair embarks on a search to figure out who the girl is, what she wants with Jack, and how to get rid of her. The little match girl is, of course, the titular character of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Match Girl,” but Bennett gives her a compelling backstory, connecting Lucy’s family history with the girl’s tragedy. Lucy and Jack share narration (with the occasional interjection of the ghost, Klara) and their voices are appealingly casual, without excessive descriptions or explanations, and very teen; they also often address the audience, directly making an easy access point for reluctant readers. Klara becomes increasingly menacing as the plot unfolds while Jack and Lucy’s pursuit of information gains a gripping urgency. A brief page count and a well-drawn mystery/ghost story make this an inviting quick pick.