The Opposite of Here

April 2, 2018
Altebrando (The Leaving) gives a nod to Alfred Hitchcock in this taut thriller set over the course of a seven-day cruise. Natalie’s boyfriend recently died in a car crash, and her parents take her and three best friends on a birthday “sail-a-bration” in an effort to help her move on. Within hours of leaving port, Natalie meets a handsome, mysterious boy and for the first time she feels interest in someone new—but he soon disappears, and he may have gone overboard. Altebrando writes in a spare, detached prose style, befitting her emotionally distant protagonist and the unsettling circumstances. The cruise ship setting becomes increasingly claustrophobic, as Natalie and her friends struggle under the weight of their own secrets. An eeriness pervades each reveal, as Natalie searches for the mystery boy and uncovers clues—even as her friends begin to wonder if he actually exists. Natalie’s romance with another boy on the ship somewhat detracts from the psychological intensity of the story, but this is a fast-paced and complicated mystery filled with uncertainty and dread. Ages 13–up. Agent: David Dunton, Harvey Klinger.

March 1, 2018

Gr 8 Up-After Natalie loses her boyfriend Paul in a terrible accident, her parents decide it's time for her to start living life again, and book a weeklong "sail-cation" for Natalie and her friends. Celebrating her birthday and a new outlook on life on a Caribbean cruise isn't her first choice, but Natalie decides to give it a try. Sea, sun, relaxation-and maybe even a new flame? Natalie meets a handsome stranger who makes her forget Paul for a little while. The two hit it off immediately. Then the new boy suddenly disappears, and Natalie must team up with his twin brother to track him down. Natalie learns that love isn't always what it seems and that sometimes your friends are the ones to count on in a crisis. The story is intertwined with scripts from "two-line films" the girls must create for their teacher, which provide interesting perspective to the story and characters. Fans of mystery and realistic fiction will appreciate this quick read. An interesting plot twist will keep readers guessing until the very end. VERDICT A fun and unusual mystery that teens will enjoy; give to fans of John Green's Paper Towns and E. Lockhart's We Were Liars.-Corey Hall, Manheim Central Middle School, PA

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2018
After a charming fellow cruise passenger disappears, Natalie can't help trying to figure out where he went--and why he vanished.The cruise was supposed to be a treat for Natalie, whose boyfriend recently died in an accident. Armed with new underwear and her three best friends, she's willing to try to have a good time and is surprised at the instant chemistry she feels when she meets a new guy. But this is no easy cruise romance. When Natalie leaves for a minute to change into her swimsuit, returns to find him gone, and rumors that a passenger went overboard start circulating, it seems that something darker is afoot. Questions around the mysterious disappearance propel readers forward, and the vast yet claustrophobic cruise ship serves as a clever stage for the Hitchcock-inspired drama. The plot loses its course, though, as Altebrando (The Possible, 2017, etc.) tries to create meaning across a host of topics: grief, betrayal, friendships, sexual assault, and racial identity, to name a few. The last of these feels especially slapdash and ineffective--while Natalie and other primary characters are white, the third best friend is biracial (white and black) and saddled with identity issues, apropos of nothing. Readers who love stories with a twist will sail right through this one and, in the absence of a more compelling or memorable protagonist, keep moving.Too many vaporous threads set this breezy cruise thriller adrift. (Suspense. 12-16)

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March 15, 2018
Grades 9-12 Natalie's parents are taking her and her best friends on a sail-a-bration cruise for her seventeenth birthday in hopes of distracting her from her boyfriend's death in a car accident a few months prior. Unfortunately, things aren't as sunny as they'd all hoped. Natalie's relationship with Nora is strained, and Natalie meets an intriguing boy her first night on board, who then disappears without a trace just as rumors start simmering about someone falling overboard. Natalie is consumed with a need to find answers, which her friends don't understand. When she discovers the mysterious boy is named Ray and has a twin brother, Michael, she gets much more than she bargained for as she's drawn into the twins' twisted web of secrets. Altebrando's latest is a bit slow to start, but once the mystery is introduced, by way of the twins' Hitchcockian actions, the pace picks up, flying through to the final twist?almost a postscript?that readers will be privy to but to which Natalie will remain forever oblivious.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)