- Before I Let Go by Marieke Nijkamp
2018 [368p]
ISBN 978-1-4926-4228-2 $17.99
Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 9-12
Corey never thought that her first trip back to her tiny hometown of Lost Creek, Alaska after leaving for boarding school would be to bury her best friend Kyra. [End Page 213] Kyra's death doesn't make any sense to Corey, so she's trying to figure out just what happened to her friend. Hushed whispers and sharp, disapproving eyes mark Corey as a prying outsider as she realizes that bipolar Kyra, in her manic state, had been foretelling the future, including her own death. Did the people of Lost Creek push Kyra to fulfill that fatal prophecy? With a chilling air of suspense and a dash of supernatural all wrapped up in the dreary and bitter cold of an Alaskan setting, this offers an emotional and twisted mystery. Nijkamp plays with time and format as she beautifully weaves narrative, letters, diary entries and phone calls into a single account. This title is great for readers with a taste for atmospheric mystery and who can appreciate the harrowing chill of an Alaskan winter. MK