But a tragic car crash happens on a rainy night, and all five characters end up stuck between life and death. Beatrice Hartley is determined to find out happened to Jim, her first love. A year later, the classmates meet up once again. and at life.Īnd so begins the Neverworld Wake.Elevator Pitch: Five friends at Darrow-Harker School are devastated when their friend Jim ends up dead. Now Beatrice has one last shot at answers. Blithely, he announces the impossible: time for them has become stuck, snagged on a splinter that can only be removed if the former friends make the harshest of decisions. Then a mysterious man knocks on the door. One year after graduation, Beatrice is returning to Wincroft–the seaside estate where they spent so many nights sharing secrets, crushes, plans to change the world–hoping she’ll get to the bottom of the dark questions gnawing at her about Jim’s death.īut as the night plays out in a haze of stilted jokes and unfathomable silence, Beatrice senses she’s never going to know what really happened. Then the shocking death of Jim–their creative genius and Beatrice’s boyfriend–changed everything. Once upon a time, back at Darrow-Harker School, Beatrice Hartley and her five best friends were the cool kids, the beautiful ones. Check back here for my 2018 tour dates, giveaways, and other news.Įnter a realm where fears are physical and memories come alive in this absorbing psychological suspense thriller with a twist, from acclaimed New York Times bestselling author of Special Topics in Calamity Physics and Night Film. Writing the book was an education and a delight, as was my entry into the brave new world of YA, which boasts readers who are the most courageous, vocal, and passionate in the world. There was an urgency and speed to get it down. Yet, the idea about five estranged high school friends reuniting at a remote estate for the weekend – a seemingly innocuous occasion that turns out to be anything but – took hold of me.

Because writing–though there are moments of ease–is 98% sweat.

In the past, whenever I heard an author enthuse that their novel “wrote itself” my reaction was always, “Riiiight.” Like models insisting they subsist on a daily diet of cake and hamburgers. The creation of this book was a different journey than my other novels. I am thrilled to announce my first book for Young Adults, N everworld Wake, out June 5, 2018.

Neverworld wake