Find me

September 16, 2013
Here are some things Wick Tate knows: how to hack into almost any system; that, between her mother’s suicide and her abusive drug-dealing father, she’s responsible for keeping her sister, Lily, safe; and that no matter how loving their new foster parents seem, she can’t trust them or anyone else. Wick isn’t even sure she can trust herself—what if she’s too much like her father? Although Wick and Lily now have nice clothes and a stable living environment, the cop looking for their father keeps coming around, and their father’s partner can still force Wick to work for him. Then there are the memories churned up when a childhood friend kills herself, and her diary ends up in Wick’s hands. While Wick’s fears and suspicions initially seem overwrought, they grow to become entirely reasonable as she’s forced to make some very adult decisions. Throw in Wick’s burgeoning romance with classmate Griff and a genuinely suspenseful ending, and Bernard’s debut is effective as both high-intensity action novel and character study, and ripe for a sequel. Ages 13–up. Agent: Sarah Davies, Greenhouse Literary.