Publishers Weekly
07/03/2023
Neeves concocts an emotional debut in which two teens find themselves at the center of an investigation around a missing girl. It’s been a year since 18-year-old Teddy Ware’s twin sister, Izzy, seemingly vanished into thin air while racing her best friend Toby Smith across Massachusetts’s Bottomrock Lake. While everyone assumes that Izzy drowned, Teddy doesn’t believe it, since the police never found a body. What’s more, Izzy was training to be an Olympic swimmer, so a mile-long trek across the lake should have been easy for her. Teddy has been holding on to the hope that her sister’s missing passport means she’s alive and is hiding out somewhere. Teddy is soon blindsided to learn that she will be working alongside Toby as a lifeguard at the lake. When he offers to help her search for the truth, the two begin unraveling the riddle of what happened that night. Twists feel fresh and conceivable, and Teddy’s relationships with both Izzy and Toby unfold at a compelling pace. The protagonist’s resolute voice, formatted as if she is speaking directly to her sibling, propels this by turns thrilling mystery and tender, complex portrait of grief. Main characters read as white. Ages 12–up. Agent: Beth Miller, Writers House. (Aug.)
From the Publisher
A teenage girl searches for her missing sister with the help of the last person to see her alive in this debut mystery. It has been almost one year since Teddy’s twin sister, Izzy, disappeared during a midnight swim across Bottomrock Lake. The police believe Izzy drowned, but Teddy feels there is more to the story. Bisexual Izzy was training to try out to swim in the Olympics, so the mile swim should have been nothing for her. Adding to Teddy’s suspicions are the mysterious text Izzy sent her just before she went missing and the fact that Izzy’s passport has also vanished. After spending the last year searching for leads, Teddy is close to giving up as she returns to her old summer job as a lifeguard at the lake. But when Toby Smith, Izzy’s friend from swim team who was with her that fateful night, shows up to work as a lifeguard too, she feels that this must be a sign to keep looking. Believing that Toby is hiding something and desperate for answers about the sister she thought she knew so well, Teddy decides to form a relationship with him that soon becomes its own mystery. The plot unfolds at a deliberate pace as themes of grief, family, identity, and guilt are explored; it’s less a whodunit than a character-driven account of Teddy’s journey and relationship with her sister. Main characters are coded White. Thoughtful and compelling. (Mystery. 13-18)- Kirkus (June 15, 2023)
Kirkus Reviews
2023-05-24
A teenage girl searches for her missing sister with the help of the last person to see her alive in this debut mystery.
It has been almost one year since Teddy’s twin sister, Izzy, disappeared during a midnight swim across Bottomrock Lake. The police believe Izzy drowned, but Teddy feels there is more to the story. Bisexual Izzy was training to try out to swim in the Olympics, so the mile swim should have been nothing for her. Adding to Teddy’s suspicions are the mysterious text Izzy sent her just before she went missing and the fact that Izzy’s passport has also vanished. After spending the last year searching for leads, Teddy is close to giving up as she returns to her old summer job as a lifeguard at the lake. But when Toby Smith, Izzy’s friend from swim team who was with her that fateful night, shows up to work as a lifeguard too, she feels that this must be a sign to keep looking. Believing that Toby is hiding something and desperate for answers about the sister she thought she knew so well, Teddy decides to form a relationship with him that soon becomes its own mystery. The plot unfolds at a deliberate pace as themes of grief, family, identity, and guilt are explored; it’s less a whodunit than a character-driven account of Teddy’s journey and relationship with her sister. Main characters are coded White.
Thoughtful and compelling. (Mystery. 13-18)
