Whisper to Me

by Nick Lake

Overview

"Raw and lovely, dark and light, heartbreaking and human." - Jennifer Niven, New York Times bestselling author of All the Bright Places

Printz winner Nick Lake delivers an emotionally gut-wrenching love story told in reverse--starting with the post-break up apology letter--in this riveting, choices-of-the-heart summer romance.

Cassie is writing a letter to the boy whose heart she broke. She's trying to explain why. Why she pushed him away. Why her father got so angry when he saw them together. Why she disappears some nights. Why she won't let herself remember what happened that long-ago night on the boardwalk. Why she fell apart so completely.

Desperate for his forgiveness, she's telling the whole story of the summer she nearly lost herself. She's hoping that love-love for your family, love for that person who makes your heart beat faster, and love for yourself-can save both of them after all.

Awards for There Will Be Lies
A Boston Globe Best YA Book of 2015
A Texas TAYSHAS Pick

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781619634572
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	05/03/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	400
File size:	849 KB
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

Nick Lake is the much-acclaimed author of In Darkness, winner of the Michael L. Printz Award, Hostage Three, which received three starred reviews and was named a Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, and Boston Globe Best Book of the Year, and There Will Be Lies. He is also the Publishing Director for fiction at HarperCollins Children's Books UK. Nick lives near Oxford, England.

www.in-darkness.org
@nicklakeauthor
Nick Lake was born in Britain but grew up in Luxembourg, where his father worked for the European Parliament. Nick works in publishing by day and writes in every spare moment he can find. In 2012, his powerful and moving novel In Darkness, about the Haitian earthquake, was published for adults and older teenagers, receiving huge acclaim. Hostage Three is his very different but equally powerful new novel for teenagers.

Nick lives near Oxford with his wife and family. His long commute to work gives his imagination time to explore places he's never visited.

Editorial Reviews

03/07/2016
Cassandra, 17, is already carrying a deep emotional scar when she finds a severed human foot in her Jersey Shore town, where a serial killer is suspected in the disappearance of 14 sex workers. The shocking discovery jars loose guilt and sadness over her mother’s violent death in the form of a disturbing voice that harangues Cassie to harm herself in many ways, including by sabotaging her summer romance with the boy to whom the story is addressed (in what would surely be the world’s longest email). Cassie’s conversational narration continually telegraphs impending doom, which keeps the pages turning as readers race to find out what horrible fate will befall the characters, especially Paris, a stripper who befriends Cassie at a psychiatric hospital. Cassie is a deeply sympathetic figure, due in no small part to the terrifying and violent demands of the voice she hears. Part romance, part crime story, part meditation on mental illness, Lake’s (There Will Be Lies) story covers a lot of ground but leaves several threads hanging, which may frustrate some readers. Ages 14–up. Agent: Caradoc King, United Agents. (May)

Publishers Weekly

I could not put it down. Whisper to Me is raw and lovely, dark and light, heartbreaking and human, and it left me both aching and filled. Stunning.” —Jennifer Niven, NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of ALL THE BRIGHT PLACES

“A genuine narrative exploring mental health issues, vulnerability, and how love can help bridge the two. A recommended purchase for all YA collections.” —starred review, School Library Journal

“Cassie's charming, self-deprecating narrative and the insight into her mental health are engrossing and moving.” —Booklist

“Part murder mystery, part love story, with plenty of drama for Lake's many fans.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Cassie is a deeply sympathetic figure . . . Part romance, part crime story, part meditation on mental illness.” —Publishers Weekly

“Will haunt readers' memories when they walk along the beaches and piers this summer.” —VOYA

“Cassie's story is completely absorbing . . . A fascinating exploration of the possible residues of trauma and the painstaking work of recovery.” —BCCB

“Perplexing and disorienting, full of the rich language and heady epiphanies readers have come to expect from the Printz-award winning author.” —starred review, School Library Journal on THERE WILL BE LIES

“Impressively unpredictable—a motley mix of taut thriller, transportive fantasy, and poignant coming-of-age . . . Shelby narrates the surreal implosion of her life in an indignant, funny voice, à la Judy Blume.” —Entertainment Weekly on THERE WILL BE LIES

“A rare joy to behold.” —Booklist on THERE WILL BE LIES

“Suspenseful, complicated . . . A fine exploration of the power of story itself.” —Kirkus Reviews on THERE WILL BE LIES

“Lake returns to the mix of reality and fantasy he used to great success in his Printz-winning In Darkness . . . Shelby is highly sympathetic.” —Publishers Weekly on THERE WILL BE LIES

“A twisty drama suffused with elements of folklore.” —Wall Street Journal on THERE WILL BE LIES

From the Publisher

★ 04/01/2016
Gr 9 Up—After a devastating find on the beach, Cass is haunted by a voice that is demanding, threatening, and vulgar. It pushes Cass to confront a battle within herself and her new friendships. The latest from the Printz-winning author is a spooky epistolary novel in which the protagonist confesses to her only love about her mental illness and unresolved past traumas whilst also seeking forgiveness. Characters are layered and nuanced, and carry their troubled pasts. The writing is clear and flowing; Lake's depiction of a Jersey Shore town is authentic and well realized. Characters' uncovered histories, their emotional defeats, and the discovery of new information create a genuine narrative exploring mental health issues, vulnerability, and how love can help bridge the two. VERDICT A recommended purchase for all YA collections.—Briana Moore, School Library Journal

School Library Journal

2016-02-17
After Cassie finds a human foot washed up on a New Jersey beach, she starts to hear a voice that threatens to harm her and others unless she obeys it. Cassie lives with her father, an ex-Navy SEAL with anger issues stemming from PTSD. Briefly hospitalized due to the voice, Cassie finds a friend, Paris, arguably worse off than she is, who encourages her to stop taking her meds. Cassie's tale takes the form of a letter pleading for understanding to a boy she fell in love with and misses terribly. The lengthy novel gives Printz winner Lake ample space to play with form and style as Cassie's letter unravels the details of her summer, which range from Ferris wheels and roller derby to deeply internalized trauma and fear. In a distinctive, conversational voice, she finally tells the boy, in fits and starts and a lot of lists, the story of her struggles with mental illness and guilt over her mother's death. The "you" in Cassie's tragic summer tale remains nameless throughout the novel. Because it's a letter addressed to him, the result is a second-person narrative of nearly equal weight to Cassie's first-person story, emphasizing the novel's themes of duality and internal struggle against one's own demons. Part murder mystery, part love story, with plenty of drama for Lake's many fans. (Fiction. 12 & up)

Kirkus Reviews