Proof of Forever

Zoe, Tali, Luciana, and Joy are jaded former best friends from summer camp, each with their own hang-ups and heartaches. One night they converge at a camp reunion, wondering where their friendship went wrong, and are mysteriously transported back to their 15-year-old selves. With one week of camp left, the girls must figure out how to return to the present day. In her first novel, Hillyer, a co-founder of literary development company Paper Lantern Lit, employs the simplicity and levity of a time-travel device to contrast the then and now of her four protagonists, adding a dose of humor to some of the heavier moments of this story—Joy’s secret, Zoe’s uncertainty about her sexuality, Tali’s long-harbored anger, the pressure Luciana feels to be a “good girl,” and the loves and losses each girl faced (and now face again) at camp. While the novel’s ending is somewhat rushed, Hillyer’s third-person narrative is fluid and layered with emotion, sensitively describing the friends’ second chances at a variety of firsts and the strengthened bond they share. Ages 13–up. Agent: Stephen Barbara, InkWell Management. (June)