Miranda (Soulprint) explores the traumatic effects of fear conditioning while offering chills aplenty in this frightening thriller. Kelsey Thomas lives in a beautiful home with her mother, Amanda, who hasn't left for 17 years, since Kelsey was born. The house is a fortress meant to keep any threat at bay. When Kelsey is involved in a car accident and rescued by volunteer fireman and classmate Ryan Baker, it kicks off a series of events that bring to light the horror that her mother suffered all those years ago. Then Kelsey's mother disappears. Someone has Kelsey in his or her sights, and it's surely connected to her mother's past. Desperate to find her mother, Kelsey, with Ryan's help, begins sifting through clues about her mother's abduction and discovers that nothing is what it seems. Writing from Kelsey's first-person perspective, Miranda expertly builds a sense of dread, leaving readers to uncover the truth right alongside Kelsey. A touch of romance adds levity, and the breathless cat-and-mouse game between Kelsey and her shadowy pursuers makes this a fast-paced, suspenseful treat. Ages 14–up. Agent: Sarah Davies, Greenhouse Literary Agency. (May)

Gr 7–10—Kelsey awakens dangling upside down from her seat belt, her car having careened through the guard rail. She is pretty sure a car forced her off the road, but the police find no sign of another vehicle. Kelsey has good reason to be fearful. Her mother was abducted at age 17, held for over a year, and then escaped, pregnant. Kelsey's mother lives in constant fear of being pursued by her captors. Their house is a fortress, which she has never left, and Kelsey has been homeschooled until now. Only a visit from the state's child services department has forced her mother to allow the teen to have a minimal amount of freedom—she can attend the local high school. An insightful bit of research on mice epigenetics referenced by her mother's therapist reveals that a parent's fears can be passed to second-generation children through DNA, even though they have not experienced the same traumas. Is it actual danger that lurks around every corner, or is Kelsey just manifesting her mother's ingrained phobias? YA suspense at its very best: this psychological thriller will blow readers' minds. VERDICT A fantastic choice for reluctant readers, this page-turner will be a hit with fans of Eliot Schrefer's The Deadly Sister.—Leah Krippner, Harlem High School, Machesney Park, IL