THE NARROW

Ghosts, secrets, lies, and loyalty.

Seventeen-year-old Eden has secrets. As she returns to boarding school for senior year, she’s keeping the biggest secret of all: the reason behind her bruises and injured arm. When the dean informs her that her parents (who are vacationing in Bali) haven’t paid her tuition, Eden again feels the thud of their casual neglect. The dean offers her a choice: stay in climate-controlled Abigail House with mysteriously ill Delphine, whose family will cover tuition for someone willing to live there as her companion, or leave the school. Eden chooses Abigail House—with trepidation. Six years earlier, making the traditional (and potentially deadly) beginning-of-term leap across the Narrow, a river chasm, Eden and best friend Veronica turned to see Delphine fall in. Horrified, they watched her disappear beneath the water. But amazingly, they found Delphine back at the dorm when they returned. The next day, Delphine developed a deadly allergy to water unless it’s distilled. Now, Eden hears rumors of the Drowning Girl ghost—and the cryptic Abigail House protocol includes never leaving the door at the bottom of the stairs unlocked at night. As Eden becomes romantically attracted to Delphine, she pursues the mystery of the ghost, convinced it holds the key to Delphine’s illness. Love and loyalty intertwine with undercurrents of controlling abuse, giving this story the depth and richness of a darker reality. Main characters are White; there is diversity in sexuality and ethnicity in the supporting cast.

Haunting.