The Drowning Summer

February 15, 2022
A young medium and her ex-best friend are haunted by ghosts from their own pasts. Sixteen-year-old Mina Zanetti has finally convinced her mother to fully train her as a medium in the secret family business. But Mina's first night goes wrong in a way that is deeply tied to her former best friend, Evelyn Mackenzie, and the friendship-ending mistake they made by attempting a summoning together 6 years prior. Pushed by desperation, socio-economically disadvantaged Evelyn's second summoning unleashes dangerous consequences for both girls. At the heart of their troubles are spirits tied to a scandal that rocked their idyllic Long Island town when they were children: the unsolved murders of three teenagers. Between the mechanics of mediumship and the twists and turns of the mystery of what brought the Cliffside Trio to their bad ends, the bisexual leads' growing reconnection turns toward mutual romantic feelings. Their relationship reads well because of their respect for one another, shared struggles against isolation, and contrasting personalities (put-together, controlled Mina designs her own fashion collection, while fiery, environmentally minded Evelyn wants to escape their town to study marine ecology). Side characters broaden the world and mysteries, appearing in ways that never slow the plot (with lovely depictions of female friendships in particular). The descriptions of the magic and hauntings are sensory delights, and the ending leaves plot threads for future books. Main characters are White, and there's diversity among side characters. Immersed in multilayered personal relationships and engrossing mysteries. (Paranormal. 12-18)

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March 7, 2022
In Herman’s (All of Us Villains) atmospherically told tale of the supernatural, 16-year-old fashion designer Mina Zanetti wants to join the family business—not the Italian American catering company that her mother, Stella, runs in Long Island suburb Cliffside Bay, but the Zanetti clan’s work as mediums transitioning ghosts from one world to the next. Hoping for some on-the-job training, Mina accompanies Stella to Sand Dollar Cove, a beach where three high school juniors were killed six years prior in a never-solved case, and where Stella uses saltwater to communicate with ghosts of the dead. Meanwhile, Mina’s former friend Evelyn Mackenzie, also 16, heads to the Cove to summon a spirit, hoping that it will remove evidence that she has cheated on a test. But her clumsy efforts cause trouble for the teens, both bisexual and white-cued, who recall a previous summoning that ended their friendship. The author ticks a wide range of age-bracket and genre standbys—troubles with parents, a past mystery, and false accusations—but wider-world problems, including pollution, add layers and
originality to the plot. Ages 14–up. Agent: Kelly Sonnack, Andrea Brown Literary. (Apr.)■

April 15, 2022
Grades 9-12 Two young mediums uncover the connections between the ghosts of the Cliffside Trio, teens murdered six years ago, and a Long Island Sound pollution scandal in this environmentally minded mystery. Mina and Evelyn were best friends until, at age 10, they summoned a spirit to fix a problem, but not without cost. Now 16, Mina has finally convinced her mother to train her in the family's ancestral gifts, while Evelyn considers her foray into magic a one-time necessary evil--until she gives in to the temptation to undo another personal tragedy. Evelyn's summoning intensifies the trouble from the past and brings Mina back into her orbit to finally put the Cliffside Trio to rest. Mina and Evelyn have distinct voices and personalities that keep the back-and-forth between their chapters fresh, as does Herman's lyrical writing and vivid sense of place. The girls, both bisexual, experience realistic transitions in their relationship, from lapsed friendship to attraction and romance. Though the Cliffside Trio mystery grows increasingly convoluted, it resolves satisfactorily. Hand to lovers of magic, mystery, and sapphic romance.

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