WHEREVER NINA LIES
by Lynn Weingarten
In this gripping debut novel, a compulsive cross-country quest for her missing older sister leads 16-year-old Ellie to the terrifying truth. After her artistic sister Nina’s inexplicable disappearance two years ago, Ellie still clings to the hope of finding her. When she stumbles on one of Nina’s drawings with a phone number in a vintage shop, Ellie automatically assumes this is a sign. “Fate” connects her with the elusive and enabling Sean, and the impulsive couple pursue Nina’s bread-crumb trail of clues from Chicago to a Nevada diner, a Denver tattoo parlor, an Arizona rock concert and eventually San Francisco. Ellie’s colloquial first-person, present-tense narration, accented with flashbacks about Nina, reveals her naïve but dogged determination and her growing romantic attraction to the increasingly possessive Sean. As she moves closer to Sean and the truth, Ellie and readers simultaneously unravel the bizarre clues that culminate in a shocking finale. Sibling loyalty, quirky characters, misplaced trust and the very questionable kindness of a stranger guarantee a riveting read. (Mystery. 14 & up)