The Dark Light

Seventeen-year-old Mia Stone has seen the strange lights that haunt her rural Nebraska town, but she doesn’t suspect that they might have something to do with a string of child kidnappings. When Mia’s 10-year-old half-brother, Jay, becomes the latest victim, Mia turns to gorgeous new student Sol. Mia thinks that Sol knows more about the kidnappings than he is letting on: his back is tattooed with the same strange bird that she has seen on her brother’s ankle. When the lights reappear, Mia makes the drastic decision to embrace them, uncovering Sol’s secrets and the truth about Mia’s family. The strange nature of the lights will hook readers, though debut author Walsh doesn’t draw out the mystery, revealing a magic-filled alternate world early on; oddly, Walsh chooses to call the city Mia arrives in Bordertown, invoking (intentionally or not) Terri Windling’s fantasy metropolis. Expository information about Bordertown and the world of Brakaland weighs down the second half of the book, but it remains an intriguing fantasy adventure. Ages 14–up. Agent: Nathaniel Jacks, Inkwell Management. (Aug.)