Shackled

Gr 9 Up—This psychological thriller follows Pelly, a 16-year-old girl whose world was shattered when her best friend was kidnapped years earlier, presumed long dead. The trauma has left her stunted, unable to move on, and marked by panic attacks and a habit of cutting herself to relieve the pressure. While Pelly is working at a coffee shop, an older man walks in with a girl in tow—a girl who resembles her best friend Tara, who was kidnapped years earlier, who mouths the words "help me." After police and loved ones tell her she cannot have seen her friend, Pelly questions her own sanity and her paranoia deteriorates her mental state. She cannot let it go and obtains clues about the man's identity, which lead her into a claustrophobic, unexpectedly charged third act. The prose is tight and the dialogue lends emotion to the character's mental state, properly complementing this plot-driven setup. Leveen effectively balances the line between gritty crime story and psychological thriller, while not drifting into areas too lascivious or gory for a YA audience.