By Kacen Callender
A Black girl in the U.S. Virgin Islands, sure she's cursed, falls for the new girl at school while chasing the ghost that's followed her since her mother left.
Caroline Murphy was born during a hurricane, which on her island means bad luck, and lately it feels true. Her mother vanished months ago with no word. The children, and even the teachers, at her Catholic school are cruel to her. And she keeps seeing a woman in black that no one else can see. Then Kalinda arrives from Barbados, and for the first time Caroline has a friend, and slowly a feeling bigger than friendship. Together they set out to solve two mysteries at once: the ghost that haunts Caroline, and where in the world her mother has gone.
This is a quiet, aching book about a child no one seems to want, and it earns every bit of feeling honestly. The ghost keeps it moving like a mystery while the real story unfolds underneath: a mother's absence, a first crush on a girl, the loneliness of being the one nobody is kind to. It won the Stonewall and Lambda awards, and you can see why. Caroline's voice is singular, and her tenderness toward Kalinda is drawn with real care.