Places No One Knows

Gr 10 Up—Waverly Camdenmar appears to be a model student with a competitive streak, but she has her secrets. Marshall Holt seems tuned out (he begins or ends many days with mood-altering substances), but he has smarts he doesn't play up. These two seeming opposites find a mutual attraction, brought to the forefront when Waverly meditates to a magic candle and is transported to Marshall's bedroom. Yovanoff paints a bleak portrait of high school, with a ruthless social structure, scheming "best friends," beer at every party, and mostly clueless adults. Waverly and Marshall switch off as narrators every few chapters, as they struggle to fit their unlikely but visceral attraction into their daytime lives. The author has some great descriptive phrases and images, such as girls with "too much eyeliner, not enough shirt"; painting fingernails with Wite-Out in a boring class; and a "soft, wobbly place" where awake and asleep come together. The school prom (which Waverly is helping plan and Marshall doesn't expect to attend) gives a focus for the final chapters. This is an angst-filled story with older high school characters, where everyone seems some degree of miserable. There are pockets of honesty that bode well for the future.