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Starred review from January 1, 2019
A depressed New England teen writes her perfect world into reality and uses it to exact revenge.Sixteen-year-old Margaret "Magpie" Lewis' father left soon after she caught him having sex with her mother's sister. Since then, Magpie's older sister, Eryn, a college senior, has stopped communicating with her, and her mother's drinking has gotten much worse. In addition, her ex-best friend, Allison, has shunned her and branded her as a slut after a horrid encounter with Allison's boyfriend, Brandon. School is an afterthought, but Magpie has made new friends: Clare, whose father committed suicide; bisexual Luke; Brianna, who suffered a humiliating incident; and Ben, who is trans. Magpie also copes by writing about a place called Near. After a portal to Near manifests in Magpie's backyard shed, she spends days there with her Stepford-esque family--one untouched by tragedy--but as Magpie tests her new abilities, her numb, shattered heart tells her that revenge will be sweet, no matter the cost. Poor Magpie's spiral is a heartbreaking example of how deep pain often masquerades as cruelty, and her actions are tragic. Leno (Summer of Salt, 2018, etc.), channeling early Stephen King at his best, offers no neat conclusions, and her frank examination of depression, grief, alcoholism, and the ruinous aftermath of sexual assault is grim yet effective. Characters are presumed white.Readers will ponder this exceedingly creepy gut punch of a tale long after turning the last page. (Thriller. 14-adult)

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April 1, 2019

Gr 6 Up-Six months ago Margaret "Magpie" Lewis's life was pretty good: she had a best friend, a family, and a strong academic career. Then, in one day, it all falls apart. She is suddenly exiled by her friends and forgotten by her family. To combat her overwhelming feelings of hopelessness and neglect, Magpie starts writing in a yellow notebook and creates her sanctuary, a place called Near. It becomes so real to her that she actually dreams it into existence, accessed through a shed in her backyard. Now Magpie has a place where she is safe and loved and in control, a place she can have anything she wants-even if what she wants most is revenge. The story takes too long to get going; readers are a third of the way through before they enter Near with the protagonist. Also, the rules and consequences of Near seem arbitrary and contrived at times and never get fully established. Teens are told by Hither, Magpie's guide and advisor in Near, that there are consequences to her actions, but sometimes those consequences are as benign as a headache and other times it's implied that she loses a part of herself. These don't ultimately serve as a deterrent anyway. By the end, the protagonist seems to be on the verge of finding real friendship and even love, so her final revenge seems a little forced. VERDICT Too many issues derail an otherwise interesting premise.-Erik Knapp, Davis Library, Plano, TX

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from May 13, 2019
In this emotionally raw drama, a teenage girl escapes her abysmal home life by conjuring up a fantastical echo of the real world in which everything is perfect. Magpie Lewis’s mother is an alcoholic, her father slept with her aunt, her older sister has left them all behind, and her former best friend no longer speaks to her. Haunted by the initially undisclosed incident that turned her into a social pariah, Mags drifts through life, slowly failing out of school and keeping her few remaining friends at arm’s length. But after she somehow opens a door into the world she calls Near, a world she’s been journaling about, she finds a place where she can finally be happy. In Near, she can have whatever she wants, from a loving family to revenge on those who have wronged her. Leno (Summer of Salt) portrays her traumatized heroine in a way that is both compelling and harrowing, especially as Mags pursues a self-destructive solution to her problems. Leno doesn’t shy away from challenging themes—including substance abuse, toxic friendships, rape, and suicide—and she brings lyrically haunting language to a story filled with inherent darkness. Ages 14–up.

Starred review from January 1, 2019
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* Once, Magpie Lewis had a normal life. That was before she caught her father naked with her aunt. Before her mother kicked him out of the house and started drinking. Before Magpie's older sister walked out of the house and never came back. And before Allison, Magpie's former best friend, stopped speaking to her and told everyone at school one version of how the worst night of Magpie's life unfolded. Now Magpie is drifting through her sophomore year of high school, ignoring her classwork and blending in with a group of other social outcasts. At home, she writes about another world?a place called Near, where everything is peaceful, and no one ever left her. Soon, though, fantasy and reality start to meld; Near is not just a dream but a place that Magpie can go. But Near isn't just a paradise. Near has teeth. Then Magpie discovers she can take things from one world into another, and, intoxicated by the power she suddenly possesses, finds that she wants to bite down. Leno (Summer of Salt, 2018) takes a concept that could easily have become melodramatic and executes it with beautiful, brutal precision. Between the lines of spare and dreamlike prose lurks a girl who, though quiet at first, demands to be seen, and readers will not soon forget her.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)