The original investigation concluded with most of the evidence pointing to Sal, who was found dead in the woods, apparently by suicide. For her senior capstone project, Pip researches the disappearance of former Fairview High student Andie, last seen on April 18, 2014, by her younger sister, Becca. Pip has known and liked Sal since childhood he’d supported her when she was being bullied in middle school. There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.Įveryone believes that Salil Singh killed his girlfriend, Andrea Bell, five years ago-except Pippa Fitz-Amobi.

Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.Īutumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart their mothers are still best friends. A squeaky-clean exploration of faith that reads like a watered-down Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. It is moralistically predictable as well: The girl whose purity is compromised is eventually left by her boyfriend and finds her relationships with friends and family suffer. Even at the height of the climax, the tension fails to build. The idea of purity rings and the deep commitment behind it is deftly explored, though the girls themselves prove to be rather vanilla in their characterizations. Confused by matters of her own faith, Tabitha is forced to decide if she wants to forgive her friend or go with the group. Morgan, Tabitha’s closest friend within the circle, is outraged by the other girl’s lack of fidelity and wants her ostracized immediately.

When one of the girls in the group breaks her pledge, the dynamics among the girls change. The girls’ lives are relatively drama-free, spent mostly analyzing crushes, going to extracurricular activities and figuring out what to wear. As tweens, they made a pledge to preserve their virginity until marriage. Tabitha and her four friends all wear purity rings.

Drive Me Crazy by Terra Elan McVoy