Told from multiple perspectives, this soulful mystery follows a grieving sister who—fed up with her town’s obsession with giving her deceased sister official sainthood—decides it’s time to prove everyone wrong.
“Real and compelling characters, page-turning suspense, brilliant writing.”—Francisco X. Stork, award-winning author of Marcelo in the Real World
“Richly and evocatively written . . . ideal for fans of Jandy Nelson and Melina Marchetta.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review
Ask anybody in her hometown of New Avon, Massachusetts—seventeen-year-old Tess da Costa is a hand-to-god, miracle-producing saint. It all began two years ago when she started hearing a mysterious voice. Its cryptic messages warned of doom and disaster, so Tess did what she could to deliver them—saving lives in the process. Before long, people were praying to Tess and the stories of astonishing recoveries and blessings from above were flooding in. So when Tess suddenly passes away, her small city springs into action to have her sainthood made official.
While Tess’s mother channels her grief into the effort, her sister, Callie, refuses to take part in the charade. Then a local girl who’s been missing for six months is miraculously found alive at the foot of one of Tess’s shrines, and the fervor around Tess’s sainthood only grows. Fed up with the town, the church and her mom’s ridiculous obsession, Callie enlists the help of Tess’s secret boyfriend, Danny, to prove once and for all that Tess was no saint, but something far more important—she was her sister and her best friend. But the case brings Callie and Danny closer than they’ve ever been, forcing Callie to confront unexpected feelings for her sister’s first love. All the while, the investigation intensifies, putting Callie face-to-face with a dark family secret and hot on the trail of a kidnapper.
