If You're Out There

January 1, 2019
She swore she'd always put "ladies before mateys," then she ghosts on her best friend? That's just shady.Zan Martini and Priya Patel are inseparable. They share a nickname game, a wealth of inside jokes, and years of happy memories. Zan knows she'll miss Priya when she moves to California. But when Priya ignores all her texts, phone calls, and emails, Zan is devastated. All she has left is Instagram, but Priya's inane, pseudo-motivational posts sound nothing like her smart, articulate self. Nearly everyone in Zan's life counsels her to move on--including her therapist mom, the dad she sees every week, the police officer who once coached her in self-defense, even their manager at the restaurant, whose paychecks keep bouncing from Priya's new address. The only one willing to listen to Zan and assist her amateur sleuthing is Logan, the handsome new kid in school. But Zan's not sure she's ready to trust someone else with her heart, and even Logan seems to harbor a dark secret. Loutzenhiser's debut is an engaging (although not impenetrable) puzzler anchored by well-realized and endearing characters with diverse family structures. Zan, Logan, and their birth families are white. Priya's mother is Indian, and her stepfather white. Zan's mother has a live-in girlfriend with brown skin. The supporting cast includes Latinx and Korean characters.A light, charming mystery and a heartfelt ode to female friendship. (Fiction. 12-18)

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March 1, 2019

Gr 7 Up-A fast-paced mystery wrapped inside a love story, Loutzenhiser's novel follows a month in the life of Zan, a teenage girl whose best friend Priya moves to California and ghosts her-ending their relationship by ceasing all communication. What makes matters worse is that all of Priya's social media posts show a change in her character. Zan believes Priya has become a shallow version of herself, someone her former best friend was not. She makes a new friend in Logan, and with him she shares her grief at the loss of her friendship with Priya. When Zan discovers something strange in Priya's latest selfie, she is worried that something more nefarious may have happened to her former best friend. Zan and Logan begin to investigate. Loutzenhiser's writing is compelling and will connect with readers who live a large part of their lives through social media and online culture. The novel features a diverse cast of characters and offers a realistic look at friendship in the digital age. VERDICT A great addition to high school library collections aiming to supply readable, engaging books for students navigating evolving relationships.-Kevin McGuire, Woodland Hills School District, PA

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