Quantum Girl Theory

In this intriguing if diffuse speculative debut, Ryan imagines what might have happened to “quiet” and “unremarkable” Paula Jean Welden, a real-life Bennington College student who went missing in 1946. Ryan proposes a “quantum girl theory” to account for the phenomenon that “a missing girl becomes everything that everyone thinks she might be,” and uses the conceit to tell a series of parallel stories. Alternately, Ryan has Paula Jean dead by a teacher’s hand, a circus performer, a writer after stealing another woman’s identity, and other possibilities. As a clairvoyant, Paula Jean goes by Mary and takes on the pain of others “the way a boxer might take punches.” She hopes to collect a reward for a missing white girl in 1961 North Carolina, and gets embroiled in solving the disappearances of two Black girls. While there are common elements to all the versions of Paula Jean—her red parka, her “Sight,” and love for a girl she went to high school with—there are many starts and stops as Ryan explores the different outcomes with little forward momentum. Still, she has a knack for clever turns of phrase and imbues her concept with smart insights on the public’s fascination with missing girls and young women. It’s a little rocky, but it’s worth a look. Agent: Dorian Karchmar, WME. (Mar.)