Darkly

Gr 9 Up–In Dia’s world, the Darkly games created by enigmatic artist Louisiana Veda are a global cultural phenomenon. The expansive, intricate games are rare and extremely valuable. A coveted internship with the Foundation responsible for continuing Veda’s work after her death seems impossibly far out of reach for Dia, who spends ­every bit of her non-school time running her family’s antique shop. Her shock at finding out she has been selected for the internship is matched only by her determination to go, and soon Dia finds herself traveling to London for it despite her flighty, scattered mother’s misgivings. As she discovers more about the expectations for herself and the six other interns, things begin to feel more like a Darkly game than reality, with tricky games, puzzles, and clues to be picked apart around every corner and many things that are not as they seem. Quick chapters break up the intensely complex and densely layered Darkly world; the lore of the games is abundant and wickedly cool. Quirky, off-beat teens with opaque motivations solve creative, unique puzzles, and the inclusion of multimedia pieces throughout the ­narrative adds more compelling detail.