(2) YA After four years in foster care, recent high school graduate Mila begins an internship ("I would spend my weekdays teaching in the schoolhouse and my Sundays waking up at five a.m. to run the booth at the farmer's market") at a farm on a secluded stretch of the California coast, run by a middle-aged couple who takes in and cares for kids like her. On her first night there, owner Terry indicates that the place is haunted--but Mila has lived with "ghosts" for years. Through her straightforward but increasingly fraught first-person narration and visceral flashbacks, readers learn about her past, particularly the time she and her mother spent with her mother's belittling, controlling boyfriend, and about a fateful choice Mila made during a fire. Printz winner LaCour's (We Are Okay) writing is lyrical and atmospheric, both in capturing the natural setting of the story and in exploring the dark recesses of her characters' grief, guilt, and psychic pain. While more gothic- than psychological-thriller, this is an empowering story of one young woman's quest to rediscover the part of herself she has left behind and to become independent. Suggest it to fans of Meg Wolitzer's Belzhar (rev. 11/14) or Nova Ren Suma's A Room Away from the Wolves (rev. 9/18).

Reviewer: Luann Toth | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2020

(3) YA Alone on a snowy campus for winter break during her first year of college, Marin--who abruptly fled her California home for reasons that only gradually become clear--anxiously awaits the arrival of her best friend for a visit. Marin's harrowing, heartbreaking backstory illustrates the complexities of a friendship that turns romantic and the knotty relationship between grief and memory.

Reviewer: Norah Piehl

(2) YA It's San Francisco Pride Week, and high school seniors (and co-narrators) Mark and Kate each have much to figure out about themselves, including how out-and-proud they want to be. When they meet at a gay club, they quickly become close and nudge each other toward bravery, romantic and otherwise. This novel features funny and introspective teens with big decisions to make.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2016

(3) YA Emi has a promising career as a set designer for films; her love life, however, is less auspicious. When Emi finds a letter at a deceased movie star's estate sale, the search for its intended recipient leads to Ava, a potential new love interest. Emi's story offers an intriguing glimpse into an unusual creative career and an unconventional, satisfying Hollywood romance.

Reviewer: Norah Piehl

(2) YA After graduation, Colby and his best friend Bev plan to tour the Pacific Northwest with her all-girl band, then spend a year in Europe, forgoing college. When Bev reveals she's attending RISD in the fall, Colby panics about what he'll do next. This breathless novel celebrates the magic that results from spontaneity and the simple joy of an open road, a few good friends, and a limitless future.

Reviewer: Rachel L. Smith | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2012

(3) YA Illustrated by Mia Nolting. Caitlin is adrift after the suicide of her best friend, Ingrid; even her beloved photography course fails to inspire her. When Caitlin finds Ingrid's journal, she gains insight into her friend's complex life and discovers a measure of hope for herself. LaCour's debut is a fresh take on a well-worn subject and a passionate argument for creativity as a vehicle for healing.

Reviewer: Norah Piehl