Nova Ren Suma (Imaginary Girls) overlays the stories of three teenage girls, told through interlocking first-person narratives, to reveal a gripping tale of multiple murders, loyalty and betrayal.
It begins on an August night, when Amber discovers that a power failure has resulted in the locks opening at the Aurora Hills Secure Juvenile Detention Center. Next, Violet describes the realization of her dream of a standing ovation for dancing the part of the Firebird. Yet she feels haunted by how her former best friend, Ori (called a "transcendent" dancer), would have performed the part, and by a memory that lurks near the Dumpsters behind the dance studio. Although readers never hear from Orianna Speerling (aka "Bloody Ballerina") directly, her story unfolds in the accounts of Vee and Amber. Suma builds suspense with Amber's sense of déjà vu: her feeling that the prison gates had opened before, and when she seees Ori's drawing of Vee in their shared jail cell, she believes she's seen Vee before.
All of the young women at Aurora Hills have complicated histories, hinted at by Amber's perceptive observations and snippets of overheard conversations--and her recollections of her own home life under a new stepfather.
The author explores the complex tapestry of truth and memory, and the idea of freedom as a state of mind versus the physical imprisonment society places upon others. Is Amber safer at Aurora Hills than she was at home? Who is freer, Vee or Ori? Just try to put this down. --Jennifer M. Brown, children's editor, Shelf Awareness