Needle Lake

Two cousins on very different sides of teen girlhood spend a winter together that changes both of their lives forever. “A searing, unforgettable novel that captures the intense and dangerous alchemy of girlhood.”—Chelsea Bieker, author of Madwoman And once, after Elna came to stay, I watched a man drown there on Christmas Eve, his body trapped beneath the ice. Fourteen-year-old Ida was born with a hole in her heart. Forbidden from most physical activities and considered strange by her teachers and peers, she prefers spending time alone, memorizing countries and capitals on her globe and imagining the world outside the tiny logging town of Mineral, Washington. One afternoon, in walks her cousin Elna, there to stay for a few weeks. Ida hasn’t seen Elna since they were children, and she’s immediately drawn to her older cousin, who’s everything Ida is not: confident, glamorous, charismatic, and daring.