Author: Susie Nadler
Genre: realistic fiction
age range: teen
Similar books: Looking For Alaska by John Green
Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley
Summary (provided by publisher): Celeste Muldoon is alone when the Big One finally hits, because, for the first time ever, her best friend stood her up after school. Nicky and Celeste share a birthday, matching tattoos, an obsession with the upcoming Mars mission, and pretty much everything else. So why did he ghost her on the day she needed him most?
As the quake’s death toll rises and days pass, Nicky and Celeste’s parents fear the worst. But Celeste doesn’t buy it. He couldn’t be dead. Nicky’d spent their senior year selling essays to rich kids and was about to get caught. He’d told Celeste about his plan to vanish, to reinvent himself and escape the disaster he’d created. The quake would be perfect cover.
But she can’t convince anyone that he could still be alive. Only Meo, a mysterious stranger who was somehow mixed up with Nicky, seems to believe, but Celeste has every reason to distrust him—even if her heart races whenever Meo shows up.
When Celeste finds Nicky’s notebook, it sends her and Meo on a quest across the broken city, up the coast through towns sheltering quake refugees, and eventually all the way to Florida, where the mission to Mars is about to lift off.
What I liked: This is more than just a book about the hunt for a missing person. In many ways, looking for Nicky is secondary to the plot of Celeste's avoidance of pretty much everything in her life. So this isn't a quest novel in the traditional sense. It is very much a tale of internal growth. As such, Celeste is a strong, dynamic character. She's quite often not likeable but she's relatable.
What I didn't like: The plot takes some slightly fantastic turns, points that stretch the bounds of believability a bit. It never goes too far though. And there is an element of privilege that the book briefly recognizes but never fully comes to terms with.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
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