NOTHING BAD HAPPENS HERE

A summer in Nantucket brings beauty and tragedy to the surface.

Pittsburgh high schooler Lucia hasn’t been the same since the tragic death of her best friend, Sammi. Hoping to lift her out of her melancholy, Lucia’s mom accepts an invitation for them to summer in Nantucket with Todd, her new long-distance boyfriend, and his college freshman son, Eric. Lucia, making the best of things for her mother’s sake, grudgingly tolerates Todd’s directive that she get a job and accompany Eric to his friends’ bonfire party. Not receiving the warmest welcome from the group, Lucia takes up with a trio of girls everyone assumes are daytrippers—Tamar, Kezia, and Selah. Lucia’s amused when bold Selah stands up to Eric’s elitist friend, Reagan, who’s the governor’s daughter. Drawn to the Three’s charisma and missing Sammi, Lucia ignores Eric’s mistrust of them. The idyllic atmosphere is abruptly shattered when Lucia makes the chilling discovery of a teen girl’s dead body in the water along the seashore. Consumed with anxiety that’s intertwined with the trauma of Sammi’s death, Lucia obsessively searches for the girl’s identity and the reason for her death. Island politics and concerns, which prioritize reputation over finding answers, add to the multilayered setting, bringing money and power to the forefront. Lucia’s complex relationship with the Three is as intriguing as it is unsettling, enhancing this immersive and haunting read. Most characters read white; Tamar is cued Black.

Sparkling and seductive, with an eerie undercurrent.