Sync

Gr 9 Up–Twins Storm and Lake, 17, have been tossed from one foster home to the next since facing abuse from and abandonment by their parents and grandmother. They have been each other’s constant, taking care of each other and tuned into each other’s feelings—in sync. In a stroke of cruelty, they are currently separated and desperate for opportunities to communicate. Readers meet Storm while he is living in a kind home, his girlfriend Jaidyn nearby. He and Lake lived happily with a foster family long ago, but the years since have been cruel to him. Life is looking up, though. Like Storm, Lake is in love. She is in an uncomfortable living situation with ultra-religious foster parents, but she also has a girlfriend: Parker, the other teen in the home. Storm and Lake’s stories are told through undelivered letters the two write to each other. Their captivating voices make it all the more heartbreaking when their lives start to unravel. The two are plunged to new depths, ripped from the ones they love, and thrown into systems meant to crush them. As the characters’ lives come apart, readers will ache to see Storm and Lake find salvation. This one will best fit school libraries with mature readers: depictions include teen sex and events that should never happen to any child, including sexual assault and suicide.