Zenn Diagram

Eva is a funny math genius who swears a lot and adores her three-year-old quadruplet siblings. She’s also the pastor’s daughter and a devout Christian, who puzzles over the meaning of Bible passages. Brant handles Eva’s faith thoughtfully and realistically in this debut novel. Eva’s Christianity is central to her identity and helps her make decisions about sex, dating, and forgiveness. But there’s something else that is a major part of who Eva is: if she touches another person’s clothing or skin, she sees “fractal” images of his or her past experiences and emotions, which has led her to avoid human contact. This changes after Eva develops a crush on Zenn, a boy she’s tutoring in math. Brant patiently and carefully develops Eva and Zenn’s relationship, as well as the surprising and problematic connection between their families; as a result, Eva’s visions can feel like an unnecessary and distracting gimmick. But otherwise, this novel about complex emotional connections, painful family histories, hope, forgiveness, love, and romance is a promising start for Brant. Ages 14–up. (Apr.)