I’m Not Supposed to Be in the Dark

For as long as she can remember, 17-year-old Aria Cayetano has had to drink a special tea created by her Lolo to keep the ghosts she dreams about from infiltrating her waking life. After she spots her former best friend Derek Johnson wandering the neighborhood at odd hours, the rosebush that has continuously bloomed outside his house for more than two decades decays into foul-smelling sludge. As Aria digs deeper into the increasingly supernatural occurrences happening around her, recruiting sometimes reluctant friends and family members, Aria gradually realizes that the powers she’s been suppressing might be the only thing that can save Derek from a dark fate. The rekindling of Aria and Derek’s friendship, and their budding romance, is vibrantly depicted against haunting descriptions of ghosts and mortality, making for an intriguing juxtaposition of life and death. Through Aria’s sarcastic first-person narration—interwoven with her illuminating journal entries and eerie dream sequences—and a vivid portrayal of Providence, R.I., Nielsen (Deep in Providence) spins a slow-burn paranormal mystery that examines grief, damaging and healing relationships, and complicated mixed-race family dynamics. Aria is half Cape Verdean and half Filipino; Derek is described as having an “earthy complexion.” Ages 14–up. (May)