Everyone wanted to touch us. Including you. So remember the seven places you touched me. That's where you'll find the truth.
From Kim Savage, author of the critically acclaimed YA novel After the Woods, comes Beautiful Broken Girls, an atmospheric psychological exploration of what loss and death leaves behind.
Mira and Francesca Cillo were beautiful and strange. Their isolated life under their father's overprotective watch made them seem untouchable--but Ben touched seven parts of Mira: her palm, hair, chest, cheek, lips, throat, and heart. After Mira and Francesca's drowned bodies are pulled out from a quarry lake, Ben recieves a letter from Mira sending him on a quest to find notes she hid for him before she died--notes that will help Ben uncover the truth behind the sisters' deaths. How Ben interprets those notes has everything to do with the way he was touched by a bad coach years ago.
But the hidden circumstances surrounding the girls' suicide are far more complicated, involving a dangerous infatuation, a deadly miracle, and a crushing lie. Will Ben put together the pieces to finally understand these mysterious sisters--or will he be left to wonder why they did it?
Praise for Beautiful Broken Girls:
After two sisters commit suicide, the boy next door traces the notes one left behind for him. . . . Told through both Ben's and the girls' perspectives, the mystery unfolds with aching precision--both Ben's grief and the sisters' pain can be acutely traced as they grow. Even though the truth can be seen before it's revealed, the girls' secrets pack a gut punch that lingers. Haunting and mesmerizing. --Kirkus Reviews, starred review
Savage's second novel is more character-driven than plot-driven. These figures are compellingly damaged, and the suspense is ever present. Savage's skillful writing makes the characters' pain deep and tangible, offering readers the full impact of the deaths on the town. --Booklist
Familial ties, friendship, and community trust are all intriguing themes, but the book's central story line is its strength as Ben moves through the stages of disbelief and grief. Teen readers will find sympathy for each character introduced and be moved by the profound sadness of the sisters' short lives. . . . A haunting tale that reads like a young adult version of Jeffrey Eugenides's The Virgin Suicides. --School Library Journal
This disturbing and emotional ride will appeal to readers of Jay Asher's Thirteen Reasons Why and Beth Revis' A World Without You, as the mental health, romantic obsession and codependency of two sisters are explored within this compelling drama. --Romantic Times Book Review