The Accident

Sarah, Will, and Eliat are all connected by a stormy night and a terrible car accident, one that left Sarah’s leg permanently damaged and killed her brother. In alternating first-person chapters, readers meet these three protagonists at different moments in time: Sarah, an aspiring artist, long after the accident; Will, a neglected brother, soon afterward; and Eliat, a foster child and teenage mother, before the accident takes place and changes her life forever. All three teens are navigating complicated family situations and working through difficult emotions, trying to make sense of their place in the world and their relationships in it. Set in Sydney, Australia (where the author lives), Hendrick’s debut expertly shifts between the multiple narratives and time frames, with Eliat’s pre-accident plot line building tension as the story progresses, and readers left uncertain how she fits into this puzzle. Though the voices can sound somewhat similar—the characters tend to observe and dissect the world in the same careful way—it’s a minor drawback in an engaging and powerful story from a writer to watch. Ages 14–up. (Nov.)