Leave No Trace

July 9, 2018
Freshly certified speech therapist Maya Stark, the narrator of this atmospheric though flawed psychological thriller from Mejia (Everything You Want Me to Be), knows she’s in over her head when Dr. Mehta—who only a few years ago was her own psychiatrist at the Duluth, Minn., mental hospital where she now works—pressures her into trying to break through to 19-year-old Lucas Blackthorn, a violent, silent new patient. Until his recent arrest during an attempted robbery, Lucas was presumed dead after vanishing a decade earlier with his father into the vast Boundary Waters wilderness on the Canadian border. The ruggedly handsome Lucas—and his single-minded determination to escape back into the wild to save his ailing parent—will soon affect Maya so deeply that she embarks on a series of increasingly dangerous decisions that could cost her job. Although overly plotted, especially with what feel like forced symmetries between Maya’s and Lucas’s backstories, the novel is saved by its arresting characters—none more so than the mysterious, primeval expanse of the Boundary Waters itself. Mejia remains a writer to watch. Agent: Stephanie Cabot, Gernert Company

July 15, 2018
A young woman with a troubled past helps an unusual young man find his father in the beautiful but dangerous wilds of Minnesota.Twenty-three-year-old speech therapist Maya Stark was lucky to get the job at the Congdon Psychiatric Facility considering that she used to be a patient there. After Maya's mother, Jane, a geologist who fostered her daughter's love for the natural world, tried to kill herself and then disappeared, Maya lost her way, making a bad decision that led to a shocking act of violence and then to a stint at Congdon. But she got herself together, got her degree, and she loves her job. She's even rebuilding her relationship with her father, though she finds it hard to let people get close to her. When 19-year-old Lucas Blackthorn is admitted after a burglary attempt, he seems to recognize Maya, but that would be impossible since he's spent the past 10 years off the grid after disappearing into the expansive Boundary Waters with his father, Josiah. His first encounter with Maya ends with a cord around her neck as he tries to escape, but Maya refuses to let the incident slow her down. Despite Lucas' aggressiveness, Maya is one of the few people he responds to, and her boss and former doctor assigns her to his case. Maya is surprised but undeniably intrigued and begins to look forward to her time with this sad young man. They eventually form a bond, and when Maya discovers that Lucas' father is still alive but in danger, she finds she's willing to do just about anything to get them back together before it's too late. Bathed in shades of melancholy, Maya's narration, woven in with Lucas and Josiah's heartbreaking story, is a testament to resiliency, and when Maya reveals her secret--the event that led to her time in Congdon--it's a shocker. But it's her ability to endure and thrive that makes her so fascinating; she's actually quite a kick-ass when push comes to shove. Keep tissues handy for this one but be assured that, in the end, there is hope to be found.Mejia's (Everything You Want Me To Be, 2017) thrilling tale works both as an engaging mystery and a haunting meditation on grief, abandonment, and the lost places within ourselves. Brutal, devastating, and utterly riveting.

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Starred review from August 1, 2018
Once a patient in Congdon Psychiatric Facility's locked criminal ward, Maya is now the hospital's most popular speech therapist, excited to tackle what promises to be her most challenging case. When he was a child, Lucas Blackthorn, along with his father, vanished into Minnesota's Boundary Waters wilderness; then Lucas resurfaced after breaking into a local outfitter's shop and assaulting the owners. Dr. Mehta, Maya's mentor and Congdon's administrator, hopes Maya can help Lucas, who appears to be a nonverbal adult, communicate his story and reveal his father's whereabouts. Lucas forms an immediate attachment to Maya, and she is shocked to discover that he will speak, but only to her. As Lucas becomes desperate to return to his father, Maya risks everything to help him escape. But every step they take toward the Boundaries draws Maya back to the horrific crime in her past. This redemption story is a departure from the chilling Gone Girl-like tale of manipulation Mejia wove in Everything You Want Me to Be (2017), instead exploring familial love and offering an honest, compassionate take on mental-health issues. Here the author uses Lake Superior's violent storms and the Boundary Waters' forbidding wilderness to intensify the story's emotional impact and heighten its exploration into the unpredictability of half-buried secrets.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)