CHEATING FATE

In a (literally) heart-stopping first chapter, four teens, best friends since early childhood, fall through the ice of a Canadian lake and are rescued. Later, comparing notes on their near-death experience, they all recollect seeing a page with names inscribed on it: those set to die on that day—without their own names—and also a page from some future date on which they will all perish together. Convinced they can cheat fate by never being together in one place again, they split into two pairs. Without their mutual support and guidance, and convinced that if they stay apart they cannot die, the three boys engage in risky behavior: using and selling drugs, fast driving and casual sexual encounters. The sole girl, cut off from the boy she now realizes she loves, is miserable. But their lives seem inexplicably linked, and they are drawn back together with many unforeseen consequences. Can anyone really cheat fate? Although the rest isn’t as good as that riveting first chapter, it’s still a worthwhile read. (Fiction. 12 & up)