Lovely Girls

Mean girls grow up to be mean moms with mean daughters in this entertaining domestic thriller from Hunt (The Last Affair). Kate Turner moves from Buffalo, N.Y., to Shoreham, Fla., with her 17-year-old daughter, Alex, who’s been depressed since her father, Ed, died in a recent car accident. Unbeknownst to Alex, her parents were considering divorce. In Florida, Alex makes instant enemies of three popular girls who catch her filming them on her phone for her video diary, which is part of her therapy. At school, the girls relentlessly bully Alex and escalate their cruel pranks after learning the circumstances of Ed’s death. Kate has an uneasy feeling about the girls, wondering whether they’re “predatory,” but she’s afraid to voice her concerns because she has become friends with the girls’ mothers, having ignored warnings that the women are vicious and take pride in raising bullies. The action builds to a shockingly believable fatal incident. Small-town gossip and teenage angst drive the brisk plot, which is elevated by fully fleshed-out characters and a palpable realism. Hunt remains a writer to watch. Agent: Christina Hogrebe, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (Feb.)