It Happened to Anna
by Tehlor Kay Mejia
Middle School    Delacorte    224 pp.
8/24    9780593647035    $17.99
Library ed.  9780593647042    $20.99
e-book ed.  9780593647059    $10.99

At her new school, Sadie is determined not to make any friends. She’d like someone to talk to, but her last best friend, Anna, died tragically in an accident Sadie blames on the ghost that has haunted her since childhood. This ghost makes lightbulbs explode and cold winds blow whenever Sadie starts getting close to another person, so she thinks it best to avoid friendly, welcoming Charlotte. When Sadie meets caustic Mal, though, her ghost does not seem to protest. Mal is attentive, funny, and ultimately extremely possessive of Sadie’s affections. She quickly deems them “best friends” and encourages Sadie to play cruel pranks on her classmates as a test of her loyalty. When their relationship grows too stifling for Sadie, Mal reveals herself to be something far more sinister than just an overbearing friend. This is an unnerving and emotionally involving novel. Sadie’s unhealthy internal monologue contrasts beautifully with the concern exhibited by her father and Charlotte, and it is empowering to witness her transformation into someone who believes she deserves to be loved. Mejia has captured the inner workings and outer environment of a middle school student deftly, weaving a taut and compelling supernatural story that will appeal to introspective, inquisitive readers while helping them contemplate what it means to be a true friend.

From the ">November/December 2024 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.