Assessment:

Plot: In a fresh and insightful story, fifteen-year-old Carly Cummings must confront a supernatural force that threatens to consume her entire community in yellow mist. Her mother has already succumbed, and now Carly, with the help of a boy from school, must uncover the source of the terrible vapor as well as her own sense of belonging.

Prose: Direct, first-person narration keeps readers oriented within the unfolding mystery Carly must solve and her efforts to preserve her sense of self over and against the pressure to conform.

Originality: Readers will appreciate the fresh take on finding one's way through the high school years, when everything can feel unstable and uncertain, as if it might vanish in a yellow mist. The setting enacts the challenges of clarifying one's place in the world.

Character/Execution: The tension between Carly and her family propels the narrative as Carly struggles to solve the mystery of what is stealing their essences. Carly’s connection to her grandfather, a writer like Carly aims to be, keeps her searching for the truth even when the rest of her family urges her to give up and join them behind the Veil.

Blurb: An alluring coming-of-age supernatural mystery about one girl’s quest to solve the mystery at the heart of her family, her school, and her town.

Date Submitted: June 23, 2022