Afterimage by Naomi Hughes (review)

Seventeen-year-old Camryn can't muster up gratitude after surviving an explosion that took out half her city. Her mother, who was killed in the blast, is now suspected of being a part of the terrorist group that the fearsome Agency believes to have caused it, Agents are interrogating and tailing Camryn, and she may or may not be hallucinating a boy named Quint, a ghostly apparition who potentially has information about the explosion if only he can remember it. This fabulously paced edge-of-your-seat thriller brings together government shadiness, the space-time continuum, notions of the afterlife, potential romance, and family drama all into one cinematic package. The technicalities of travel through wormholes and the transfer of souls are a bit vague, but they're quickly swept away by the nail-biting suspense as Camryn and Quint race against the clock, trying to prevent Quint's double from another dimension from causing any further damage in their world. There's also the tantalizing possibility of changing the past to stop the explosion altogether and save Camryn's mom, and Camryn is presented with the moral and ethical dilemma of deciding whose life she's willing to risk to do so. Camryn's voice lends emotional heft to the flurry of events as she grieves the loss of her mother and the world as she knew it, making this an action-packed plot with heart. KQG