ECHOES BETWEEN US

In Veronica’s world, things are not always what they seem—and she’s comfortable with that.

But what else would you expect from a girl who lives with the ghost of her mother and celebrates holidays on the wrong days? Her friends are happy to go along with Veronica’s quirks, but the other kids at school think she’s weird. When Sawyer, who is part of the popular group and struggles with his overly involved, alcoholic mother, moves into the apartment downstairs from Veronica, she doesn’t suspect that it will change her life. First, Veronica and Sawyer pair up to work on a class assignment and become amateur ghost hunters. Then, they start to fall for each other as they visit haunted spots around town. But as they grow closer, there’s always the looming specter of Veronica’s debilitating migraines—she lives in fear of a life-threatening disease. Can Sawyer handle that? This spooky teen drama is narrated in Veronica’s and Sawyer’s first-person voices in alternating chapters. McGarry’s (Only a Breath Apart, 2019, etc.) characters are lively and sympathetic, though their circumstances often seem overly dramatic. The book is also packed to bursting with a slew of issues that can feel overwhelming. Veronica and Sawyer are white, and the cast includes characters who are black, Mexican American, and lesbian.

A sweet teen love story that is weighted by an overflow of drama.