WHEN TOMORROW BURNS

In the latest from Newbery Award–winner Keller, three middle schoolers seek answers about a mysterious book in hopes of preventing catastrophe.

Best friends Nomi, Violet, and Arthur once discovered a book full of predictions. Each came true, save for the final one—a poem that ominously referenced “a girl who burns, a boy who breaks.” Years later, as smoke from raging wildfires pollutes the Seattle air, Nomi becomes convinced that the final prophecy is upon them and disaster is imminent. She enlists Vi and Arthur, who’s distanced himself from the girls in favor of the popular, athletic boys, to help her find a second book of prophecies that she believes will “make the world right again.” As the trio attempts to trace the books’ origin, they each navigate personal struggles: Nomi, who’s cued white, is desperately seeking a sense of control in a world filled with uncertainty; Vi, who’s white and Korean, is reeling after discovering that she’s unknowingly been a source of material for her mother’s online content; and Arthur is grappling with what it means to be a white boy in our society. Short passages throughout the novel in the voice of a forest that serves as a Greek chorus slowly and cleverly reveal the true story of the prophetic book. The result is a complex, carefully woven exploration of fate, autonomy, power, privilege, identity, and friendship.

As beautiful and intricate as the rings of an ancient tree.