The Hollow Inside

by Brooke Lauren Davis

Overview

Sadie meets The Glass Castle in a smart, gripping, and twisty YA debut about a girl seeking to reveal the truth about her mother-and herself.

Seventeen-year-old Phoenix has spent much of her life drifting from town to town with her mom Nina, using their charms to swindle and steal to get by. Now they've made it to their ultimate destination, Mom's hometown of Jasper Hollow. The plan: bring down Ellis Bowman, the man who ruined Nina's life.

When Phoenix gets caught spying on Ellis, she spins a convincing story that inadvertently gives her full access to the Bowman family. As she digs deeper into their secrets (and begins to fall for daughter Melody), she finds herself entrenched in the tale of a death and a disappearance that doesn't entirely line up with what Mom has told her.

But there's even more to this story Phoenix doesn't know. Who, if anyone, is telling the whole truth about what happened? Debut author Brooke Lauren Davis explores the murkiness of right and wrong, of choices and consequences, of heroes and villains, in an eerily compelling and thought-provoking small-town saga.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781547606214
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	10/04/2022
Pages:	384
Sales rank:	347,334
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.10(h) x 1.20(d)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Brooke Lauren Davis grew up in rural Southern Ohio. Now she lives in Louisville, Kentucky, where spends her time dreaming up more stories about small towns with big secrets. This is her debut novel, and she is also the author of After Dark with Roxie Clark.
brookelaurendavis.com
Instagram: @brookelaurendavis

Editorial Reviews

04/05/2021

Sixteen-year-old Phoenix has been on the road ever since her father’s girlfriend, Nina, stole her away at age nine; subsequently, the two have survived by stealing necessities and camping out each night. Now Nina has a plan—to return to her hometown and force renowned author Ellis Bowman, her ex-lover, to confess the sins of his past—and she needs Phoenix’s help. After arriving in the quaint Ohio mountain village and scoping out Bowman’s house, though, Phoenix gets caught. Believing she’s a homeless orphan, Ellis, his wife, and two teen children take her in and treat her as part of the family. Enjoying the comforts of home and becoming infatuated with Ellis’s daughter, Phoenix’s loyalties are torn. She doesn’t want Nina to hurt Ellis’s family, but she can’t betray the woman she calls “Mom” even as Nina’s attempts to spook Ellis grow increasingly violent. Interspersing a recounting of Nina’s harrowing teenage years with Phoenix’s present-day, first-person narrative, debut author Davis creates a complex, suspenseful story about small-town secrets, vengeance, and compassion through the cued-white cast. If Nina’s antics seem larger-than-life, other aspects of the novel, including characterizations of Ellis’s children, who both have secrets of their own to hide, come off as chillingly real. Ages 12–up. Agent: Victoria Doherty-Munro, Writers House. (May)

Publishers Weekly

The Hollow Inside is a haunting debut, as thrilling as it is lyrical. Steeped in small town secrets and layered mysteries that unfold with perfect pacing, Brooke Lauren Davis delivers a powerful story about the lengths we're willing to go to for family, and the price we pay when the ones we love reveal their true natures. I loved every bit of this twisty, poetic book.” —New York Times bestselling author David Arnold

“A propulsive, gritty thriller from an exciting new voice in YA fiction. I can't wait to see what Brooke Lauren Davis does next.” —Kara Thomas, author of THE CHEERLEADERS

“The author evocatively captures the feel of small-town life, and Phoenix, whose longing for a family is palpable, inspires sympathy, as does Nina, whose own story is interspersed throughout. . . . A page-turning debut.” —Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

05/01/2021

Gr 7 Up—Debut author Davis takes readers on a wild ride in this suspense novel featuring abduction, murder, revenge, and redemption. At age nine, Phoenix left her father's home with his girlfriend, Nina, who she now calls "Mom." Phoenix and Nina have been planning for the day when they will return to Nina's idyllic hometown of Jasper Hollow, OH, to exact revenge on Ellis Bowman, Nina's nemesis. When Phoenix comes to care for many of the people in the Ellis family and becomes romantically involved with Ellis Bowman's daughter, Melody, allegiances are tested. While readers may struggle to understand Phoenix's loyalty to Nina, who took her from a comfortable life to live in a van and steal food, the story's action and pace are compelling. The unfolding relationship between Phoenix and Melody is believable and engaging. Most characters are coded as white. VERDICT Recommended where there is demand for YA suspense.—Carly Wiggins Searcy, formerly at Calcasieu Parish P.L., LA

School Library Journal

2021-03-13
A grifter uses her 16-year-old daughter to exact revenge on the man who betrayed her.

Technically Phoenix isn’t Nina’s real daughter, but Phoenix isn’t her real name either. Her mother bailed when she was 2, and Nina has taken care of her since they fled Phoenix’s father’s house when she was 9. The two survive by separating unsuspecting folks from their belongings, but Phoenix is tired of living on the fringe, and Nina promises that they’ll finally have the perfect life they deserve. All she has to do is dig up dirt about Jasper Hollow, Ohio’s resident celebrity, Ellis Bowman, whose inspirational books put the town on the map. When the Bowmans catch Phoenix spying, she makes up a sob story on the fly. It works, and she’s invited to stay with the gregarious Ellis; his kind wife, Jill; and their teenage twins, Melody and Neil, until she gets back on her feet. As Phoenix gets to know the family and explores her undeniable chemistry with Melody, she wonders if Ellis is really the monster that Nina says he is and realizes that the price of revenge may be too high. The author evocatively captures the feel of small-town life, and Phoenix, whose longing for a family is palpable, inspires sympathy, as does Nina, whose own story is interspersed throughout. Much of the suspense comes from the dread over how Phoenix’s charade will end. Main characters are cued as White.

A page-turning debut. (Thriller. 12-18)

Kirkus Reviews