From the author of Something Happened to Ali Greenleaf comes another searing, affecting novel that follows one girl caught between two toxic worlds, perfect for fans of Kathleen Glasgow and Nina LaCour.
THE FALLING GIRLS
by Hayley Krischer
Razorbill, October 2021
Shade and Jadis are everything to each other. They share clothes, toothbrushes, and even matching stick-and-poke tattoos. So when Shade unexpectedly joins the cheerleading team, Jadis can hardly recognize who her best friend is becoming. Shade loves the idea of falling into a group of girls; she loves the discipline it takes to push her body to the limits alongside these athletes. Most of all, Shade finds herself drawn to The Three Chloes—the insufferable trio that rules the squad—including the enigmatic cheer captain whose dark side is as compelling as it is alarming. Jadis won’t give Shade up so easily, though, and the pull between her old best friend and her new teammates takes a toll on Shade as she tries to forge her own path. So when one of the cheerleaders dies under mysterious circumstances, Shade is determined to get to the bottom of her death. Because she knows Jadis—and if her friend is responsible, doesn’t that mean she is, too?
In this compelling, nuanced exploration of the layered, intoxicating relationships between teen girls, and all the darkness and light that exists between them, novelist Hayley Krischer weaves a story of loss and betrayal, and the deep reverberations felt at a friendship’s breaking point.
Hayley Krischer is a writer and journalist. She is a regular contributor to The New York Times, where she covers women, teenage girls, celebrities, and cultural trends. Her work has also appeared in Marie Claire,The Atlantic, The New York Times Magazine, and more. Hayley is also the author of Something Happened to Ali Greenleaf. She lives in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, with her husband, two kids, one dog, and three cats.
Finch Chamberlain is the newest transfer student to the ultra-competitive Ulalume Academy…but she’s also not what she seems. Months before school started, Finch and her parents got into an accident that should have left her dead at the bottom of the ocean. But something monstrous, ancient, and terrifying wouldn’t let her drown. Selena St. Claire sees right through Finch, and she knows something is seriously wrong with her newest classmate. But despite Selena’s suspicion, she feels inexplicably drawn to Finch, leaving her with a sinking feeling that from now on, the two will be unnaturally linked to each other. Then one night, Finch, Selena, and her friends accidentally summon a carnivorous creature of immense power from the depths of the school. Can Finch and Selena learn to work together to stop the horror they unleashed before it consumes them and the entire island?
None of these people care about Piper. All they’re really doing is forcing me to replay everything I did—everything I didn’t do—to push my sister to her breaking point. Piper Sullivan never should have been at Suicide Point the day she fell. Her older sister, Savannah, knows this with all her heart—just as she knows that Piper’s “accident” was entirely her fault. Savannah did something awful, something she can barely stand to think about, and now Piper is in a coma. But just as Savannah’s guilt threatens to swallow her whole, she finds something strange in Piper’s locker: a note inviting Piper to a meeting of their school’s wilderness club…at the very place and on the very day she fell. Which means that there’s a chance Piper wasn’t alone. Maybe it isn’t Savannah’s fault, after all. Someone in the club might know what really happened. Someone might have done something. But why? If Savannah wants to find out the truth about that tragic day, she’ll have to join the club on their weekend long camping trip…on the very same mountain where her sister fell. And with everyone in the club a suspect, she’ll need to be careful or she might follow her sister into the dark.
Four months after his unarmed friend Ed was shot and killed by a white man in a Brooklyn parking lot, VZ doesn’t know what he wants to do or what he believes. He’s got some kind of feelings for Diamond, the cute girl at work, and he might want to finish the video game that Ed designed and enter it into a contest that Ed was determined to win. Go to protests about Ed’s murder? Nah, that’s his friend Jackson’s thing. But when Singer, the man who killed Ed, ends up dead—in the exact same spot that Ed was shot—VZ has to step up, because Jackson is the cops’ number one suspect.
When Saffy’s beloved grandmother, Rose, goes into a care home Saffy learns that she has inherited her Cotswolds cottage. But as work begins on much-needed renovations, the body of a young woman is uncovered in the garden. Who is she? During Rose’s more lucid moments, she reveals snippets of information that Saffy pieces together. And then another body is discovered. As she delves into Rose’s past, Saffy uncovers dark secrets, calling into question everything she thought she knew about her family.