THE MANSION

Three teens embark on a dangerous quest that tests their friendship in this YA novel.

In 1987 in Burghville, New York, Amanda Brooks, Skye Krause, and Marcy Mason are sophomores at Mid Valley High. Each girl deals with a disturbing aspect of her life. Amanda has anxiety; Skye’s veteran father disappeared after a violent episode; and Marcy’s mother has cancer. One day, the girls meet outside for lunch. Marcy explains her fascination with a hiking spot in the wooded mountains of the Hudson Valley that involves a decrepit mansion. Instead of spending Halloween indoors watching It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, they agree to find the mansion of Theodore R. Van Barren Bowls, a scientist who vanished in 1957. Their imaginations blaze with the possibility that his secret laboratory contains a time machine. They also create the cover story of a sleepover for their parents because sneaking onto the state-owned property isn’t legal. After Skye’s cousin Charlemagne drops them off at the trail in her Buick Beast, the girls begin hiking toward a transmission tower near the mansion. From there, they’ll encounter wildlife, hazardous obstacles, and unsavory strangers on a journey that may or may not yield the treasured experience they’re hoping for. Connelly’s adventure brims with realism and nostalgia, creating a heady mix for readers who came of age in an era before social media. The mainstream heyday of heavy metal culture is portrayed in character sketches; student Tony Vito, for example, can’t attend a concert that’s part of the band Slayer’s Reign in Blood tour because he broke his ankle jumping from the school’s bathroom window. The protagonists and the secrets they keep are exceptionally drawn, like Amanda, who has a crush on Mr. West, a teacher (“He’s a dream”); and Skye, who listens to Elton John. The Hudson Valley’s natural beauty is juxtaposed against striking elements like the Manhattan skyline. Brief flash-forwards prove poignant as readers learn just how much this hike meant to the girls as they became women. The author’s skill in conjuring this particular time and place through vibrant characters should leave readers eager for his next novel.

A transporting, nostalgic adventure that will entertain teen and adult readers alike.