The Cartographers

When she’s accepted on scholarship to a prestigious N.Y.C. university, Ocean Sun, 17, feels that her future is perfectly charted out. Privately, though, Ocean has been wrestling with depression and suicidal ideation while balancing her Chinese immigrant mother’s high expectations with finding her own place in the world. Unbeknownst to her mother, Ocean defers college admission for a year, hoping the extra time will help her sort out her feelings. Under the guise of leaving for school, Ocean moves in with roommates in New York. While stranded in a subway station, she meets white graffiti artist Constant, and the two develop a profound connection formed via Google Docs correspondence discussing physics, mortality, and love. As Ocean uncovers more about herself and the world around her, however, she struggles to keep her double life secret from her mother. Employing leisurely pacing, Zhang (This Is Where the World Ends) meaningfully develops the characters’ dynamic relationships and intersecting paths toward adulthood, and Ocean and Constant’s poetic conversations and introspective ruminations provide plenty of fodder for philosophical discussion long after readers put down this reflective, romantic novel. Ages 14–up. Agent: Emily S. Keyes, Foreword Literary. (Jan.)