Our Lives in Between follows a young woman named Veronica…until she dies. Next thing she knows, her name is Harmony. As her mind floods with the thousands of lifetimes she has lived, a pattern begins to surface. Veronica’s boyfriend, Seth, or as Harmony knows him, Kaleb, appears to be a catalyst for tragedy in each life. For Harmony, what had begun as just a hypothesis has spiraled into much more. As she incidentally begins to pull back the curtains of her world, newfound love, extreme fate, and budding conspiracy slowly worm themselves out of the shadows.
Tempting Fake by Tracey Morait follows dual protagonists, who both feel isolated from their peers and rely on Pictapost (a popular picture-posting and chat app) to feel connected. However, both teens cope by using Pictapost differently. Behind one side of the screen is Cherry, Helton Manor’s “New Girl”, seeking validation. Her validation comes from creepy fans’ likes, comments, and direct messages on her risky photos and flirtatious captions.
Miss Novak’s Christmas written by Robert A. Valle follows the story of a recent Slovakian immigrant, Anya Novak. She is a reserved and talented viola player, who despite her skills is extremely self-conscious. She doubts herself as a result of the many adverse experiences she faced in Slovakia, the most recent of which led her to move to Manhattan. The novella opens with Anya’s chamber group wrapping up rehearsal for their winter concert where Anya is told by her conductor that she needs to play bolder.
