Books You Should Read: IMAGINARY GIRLS by Nova Ren Suma

Chloe's older sister, Ruby, is the girl everyone looks to and longs for, who can't be captured or caged. When a night with Ruby's friends goes horribly wrong and Chloe discovers the dead body of her classmate London Hayes left floating in the reservoir, Chloe is sent away from town and away from Ruby.

But Ruby will do anything to get her sister back, and when Chloe returns to town two years later, deadly surprises await. As Chloe flirts with the truth that Ruby has hidden deeply away, the fragile line between life and death is redrawn by the complex bonds of sisterhood. With palpable drama and delicious craft, Nova Ren Suma bursts onto the YA scene with the story that everyone will be talking about.

Why You Should Read It:

This book is creepy. And since Halloween is right around the corner, I figured I'd talk about a book that freaked me out. Is it gory? No. Do people get jumped in dark alleys/abandoned houses/asylums? Uh-uh. Is there a serial killer on the loose? *shakes head* I know, I know. You're going, "Then why the eff is it creepy?" 

Folks, Nova Ren Suma is a master storyteller. 

Not only can she create characters that feel real, that you can hear them whispering into your ear as you read, but she's got a gift for The Uncomfortable. Every single word, every turn of phrase, every scene gutted me alive. Like Chloe, I felt exasperated, confused, and outraged at certain... events... that play out during the novel. And even though there were times I wanted to push my way into the pages and yank Chloe away from the weird and uncontrollable, I kept my cool and trusted her. I trusted Suma as an author, too. That trust paid off in a big way. 

Imaginary Girls is about blood. It's about two sisters who don't understand each other, but they totally do. It's also about holding on to what you know, what you love, and what you can't live without. And it's this holding on that freaked. Me. Out. Because the harder you pull on something that's gripped at the other end, the quicker it'll snap in half. 

If you're looking for an eerie dose of magical realism this Halloween, Imaginary Girls is the book for you.