Thornhill

Thornhill by Pam Smy, 533 pages

“Parallel stories set in different times, one told in prose and one in pictures, converge as a girl unravels the mystery of the abandoned Thornhill Institute next door. 1982: Mary is a lonely orphan at the Thornhill Institute For Children at the very moment that it's shutting its doors. When her few friends are all adopted or re-homed and she's left to face a volatile bully alone, her revenge will have a lasting effect on the bully, on Mary, and on Thornhill itself. 2017: Ella has just moved to a new town where she knows no one. From her room on the top floor of her new home, she has a perfect view of the dilapidated, abandoned Thornhill Institute across the way, where she glimpses a girl in the window. Determined to befriend the girl and solidify the link between them, Ella resolves to unravel Thornhill's shadowy past. Told in alternating, interwoven plotlines--Mary's through intimate diary entries and Ella's in bold, striking art--Pam Smy's Thornhill is a haunting exploration of human connection, filled with suspense.” This was creepy.  I wasn’t expecting the ending either.  This is a good book for teens who like graphic novels and horror.

The Lie Tree

The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge, 377 pages

“Faith Sunderly leads a double life. To most people, she is reliable, dull, trustworthy--a proper young lady who knows her place as inferior to men. But inside, Faith is full of questions and curiosity, and she cannot resist mysteries: an unattended envelope, an unlocked door. She knows secrets no one suspects her of knowing. She knows that her family moved to the close-knit island of Vane because her famous scientist father was fleeing a reputation-destroying scandal. And she knows, when her father is discovered dead shortly thereafter, that he was murdered.   In pursuit of justice and revenge, Faith hunts through her father's possessions and discovers a strange tree. The tree bears fruit only when she whispers a lie to it. The fruit of the tree, when eaten, delivers a hidden truth. The tree might hold the key to her father's murder--or it may lure the murderer directly to Faith herself.” This might be my favorite of Hardinge’s books so far.  I really loved the characters, even the unlikeable ones, and the story was fascinating.  It’s historical, but I would give this to teens who like science fiction, mystery, and adventure, because it fits those categories better.  It’s historical setting is really just background.