While searching for her missing sister, sixteen-year-old Lil nearly runs into Seven, a girl trying to escape flames that tore through the compound of the Sisterhood of the Light--and something worse. - (Baker & Taylor)
Sixteen-year-old Lil stumbles across a dangerous secret while searching for her missing sister in this gripping thriller that's perfect for fans of The Darkest Corners and The Third Twin.
Sixteen-year-old Lil's heart was broken when her sister Mella disappeared. There's been no trace or sighting of her since she vanished, so when Lil sees a girl lying in the road near her house she thinks for a heart-stopping moment that it's Mella.
The girl is injured and disorientated and Lil has no choice but to take her home, even though she knows something's not right. The girl claims she's from a peaceful community called The Sisterhood of the Light, but why then does she have strange marks down her arms, and what'or who'is she running from? - (Simon and Schuster)
A.J. Grainger lives in London, England, where she works as a children's books editor. She loves writing and editing because it means she gets to talk about books all day. She is the author of Captive and The Sisterhood. Visit her at AJGrainger.com. - (Simon and Schuster)
A.J. Grainger lives in London, England, where she works as a children's books editor. She loves writing and editing because it means she gets to talk about books all day. She is the author of Captive and The Sisterhood. Visit her at AJGrainger.com. - (Simon and Schuster)
Booklist Reviews
Since her older sister, Mella, disappeared months ago, Welsh teenager Lil has become withdrawn, holed up alone while her mother works, waiting for news. When she's biking home one night, Lil nearly runs over a girl lying injured and unconscious on the side of the road. The girl, who wakes up and says her name is Alice, is skittish and strange, begging Lil not to call the authorities. She says she's from a community of women—a Sisterhood—that worships the Light and casts out the Darkness. Lil is confused by her way of speaking, and even more confused by how bewildered Alice seems to be by everything around her. She says the Sisterhood is peaceful, but some of her injuries—burns and brands—look intentional. As Lil tries to piece together Alice's story, startling truths about the Sisterhood and what happened to Mella come to light. Moody and atmospheric, this novel joins a growing list of books about cults. Though it's sometimes thinly drawn, the dual mysteries are intriguing, and this will find a readership. Grades 7-10. Copyright 2019 Booklist Reviews.
Kirkus Reviews
Sixteen-year-old Lil has been sad and anxious since her sister, Mella, inexplicably went missing over four months earlier. Although sometimes resentful of her sister's colorful character and unpredictable behavior, Lil misses her terribly. Events take a strange turn when Lil rescues a young teen, apparently the victim of a mysterious accident, who is eventually able to provide clues as to Mella's whereabouts. Set against the backdrop of the wet and wild Welsh countryside, the story is punctuated with chapters about gatherings of the Sisterhood of the Light led by the charismatic but evil Moon whose mission it is to bring down-and-out girls in from the Dark and induct them into the sinister Light-worshipping Sisterhood. With the help of her loyal boyfriend, Kiran, and her policewoman aunt, Sabrina, Lil continues to search for Mella, haunted by imaginary conversations with her, survivor's guilt, and flashbacks to the good and bad times they had together. Lil's reflections on Me lla and her anxiety and insecurity are relevant to modern teen issues, and Lil experiences the flood and fire of a traumatic separation. The relationship between the sisters is well-drawn. Most major characters are assumed white, and Kiran is biracial, with a white Welsh mother and British-Indian father. Teens will find it easy to relate to this drama that touches on the supernatural but is grounded in sisterly love and common sense. (Thriller. 14-17) Copyright Kirkus 2018 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved.