When Meggie walks away from a plane crash—the sole survivor of the small craft’s explosive landing in the forest—she is labeled a miracle by her family, friends, and small town. But Meggie, a high school senior, doesn’t feel like a miracle; in fact, she doesn’t feel much of anything. She goes through the motions of her life and pulls back from everyone, unable to remember the details of the crash yet haunted by them—sometimes literally, as when she “sees” fellow passengers at school and home. Scott (Living Dead Girl) offers a remarkable portrait of the isolation and struggle of post-traumatic stress disorder, and Meggie’s narration consistently reflects the hollow emptiness she feels as she burrows deeper into herself. Margaret, an older woman who goes to Meggie’s church and served in Vietnam, is the first to see that all is not right with Meggie, and Meggie almost feels like herself when she’s with her gorgeous neighbor Joe. Meggie’s final catharsis is powerful if graphic. A painful story of being changed, but not destroyed by a trauma. Ages 14–up. Agent: Robin Rue, Writers House. (June)
