Nothing Bad Happens Here

December 16, 2024
Seventeen-year-old Pittsburgh native Lucia is heading to Nantucket with her mother to spend the summer with her mother’s wealthy boyfriend, Todd. Troubled by the recent death of her best friend Sammi, Lucia has low expectations for the visit, until she meets Todd’s attractive teenage son Eric. Spending time with Eric, as well as the girls she befriends through her seasonal ice cream parlor job—Selah, Tamar, and Kezia—help to raise Lucia’s spirits. Then she finds a dead girl on the beach, a discovery that dredges up past trauma. When authorities seem to have no answers regarding the girl’s identity or mysterious death, Lucia decides to investigate on her own. But as she grows closer with Selah, Tamar, and Kezia over the course of her inquiry, she realizes that the brash, adventurous trio could be hiding something troubling, and resolves to dig into their
histories. Eric’s wealthy bad-boy college roommate Tristan provides another point of tension, one that leads to a picture-perfect climax aboard his father’s yacht. Plot twists keep the wheels of Courage’s suspenseful debut spinning while the mysterious girl gang and ample romantic frivolities provide the fun. The cast is intersectionally diverse. Ages 12–up.

January 15, 2025
A summer in Nantucket brings beauty and tragedy to the surface. Pittsburgh high schooler Lucia hasn't been the same since the tragic death of her best friend, Sammi. Hoping to lift her out of her melancholy, Lucia's mom accepts an invitation for them to summer in Nantucket with Todd, her new long-distance boyfriend, and his college freshman son, Eric. Lucia, making the best of things for her mother's sake, grudgingly tolerates Todd's directive that she get a job and accompany Eric to his friends' bonfire party. Not receiving the warmest welcome from the group, Lucia takes up with a trio of girls everyone assumes are daytrippers--Tamar, Kezia, and Selah. Lucia's amused when bold Selah stands up to Eric's elitist friend, Reagan, who's the governor's daughter. Drawn to the Three's charisma and missing Sammi, Lucia ignores Eric's mistrust of them. The idyllic atmosphere is abruptly shattered when Lucia makes the chilling discovery of a teen girl's dead body in the water along the seashore. Consumed with anxiety that's intertwined with the trauma of Sammi's death, Lucia obsessively searches for the girl's identity and the reason for her death. Island politics and concerns, which prioritize reputation over finding answers, add to the multilayered setting, bringing money and power to the forefront. Lucia's complex relationship with the Three is as intriguing as it is unsettling, enhancing this immersive and haunting read. Most characters read white; Tamar is cued Black. Sparkling and seductive, with an eerie undercurrent.(Thriller. 13-17)

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March 1, 2025

Gr 9 Up-Lucia, 16, thinks she has her summer planned out. She wants to relax and read books. But her mother surprises her when she announces they will be living in Nantucket for the summer with her mother's boyfriend Todd. Nantucket is a safe place, but Lucia is not excited about the move and that she has to get a job. When she stumbles upon the dead body of a teen girl on the beach, it reminds her of the tragic event from the past school year, the death of her friend. Lucia decides she needs to solve the mystery of the girl's body, finding some unusual friends along the way. This mysterious teen beach read has plenty of twists to hold the interest of readers. The first-person narrative offers suspense and a surprise ending. VERDICT With twists and turns and a touch of the supernatural, this mysterious teen beach read is a welcome addition to any high school library.-Nancy Hawkins

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