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SPIN by K. J. Farnham

SPIN

by K. J. Farnham

Pub Date: April 11th, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-73228-322-0
Publisher: K. J. Farnham Publishing LLC

A 16-year-old girl’s sudden disappearance gradually exposes grim secrets in this YA novel.

When Jenna Kemp goes missing, her friends and family are understandably shocked. But more unfortunate surprises quickly come to light. The Wisconsin teenager had been a straight-A student, but in the weeks prior to her vanishing, she was so troubled she turned to drugs and drinking. Jenna’s mother, Bonnie, learns that her daughter had no longer been hanging out with longtime friends Keeley Simon and Delaney Burns. Jenna had likewise split with her boyfriend, Dustin Bock, and seemingly confided only in Leighton Pierce, the new girl in school. But there are things about Jenna even Keeley and Delaney don’t know, which ties to the disturbing diary entry of Jenna’s that Bonnie read, a violation of privacy that impaired the mother-daughter relationship. Something dark from the teen’s past had recently resurfaced and ultimately led to her change. While cops investigating Jenna’s disappearance have their eyes on a person of interest, Keeley, Delaney, and Leighton peruse the teen’s diaries dating back several years. They hope to find evidence of what happened to her in the past, something the girls already suspect and that may lead to Jenna’s current whereabouts. It won’t take long for readers to decipher Jenna’s traumatic event, though Farnham (A Case of Serendipity, 2018, etc.) doesn’t try to keep it a mystery. Nevertheless, the teen’s fate is unknown until the end, which helps the story retain tension for its entirety. The author achieves this with a potent nonlinear narrative that oscillates predominantly between two time periods: the months and weeks before Jenna vanishes and days after she’s gone. Farnham masterfully dramatizes the serious subject matter; Jenna is a victim who’s alternately withdrawn and combative, and she remains sympathetic throughout. The prose reflects the story’s frequent gloominess. Believing she could have done more to help her friend, Keeley broods: “I swallow the guilt that’s creeping up my throat, ready to choke me.”

A somber but meritorious tale that profoundly examines a subject affecting adolescents and adults alike.