On Halloween, 1991, a popular high school basketball star ventures into the woods near Battle Creek, Pennsylvania, and disappears. Three days later, he's found with a bullet in his head and a gun in his hand--a discovery that sends tremors through this conservative community, already unnerved by growing rumors of Satanic worship in the region.
In the wake of this incident, bright but lonely Hannah Dexter is befriended by Lacey Champlain, a dark-eyed, Cobain-worshiping bad influence in lip gloss and Doc Martens. The charismatic, seductive Lacey forges a fast, intimate bond with the impressionable Dex, making her over in her own image and unleashing a fierce defiance that neither girl expected. But as Lacey gradually lures Dex away from her safe life into a feverish spiral of obsession, rebellion, and ever greater risk, an unwelcome figure appears on the horizon--and Lacey's secret history collides with Dex's worst nightmare.
By turns a shocking story of love and violence and an addictive portrait of the intoxication of female friendship, set against the unsettled backdrop of a town gripped by moral panic, Girls on Fire is an unflinching and unforgettable snapshot of girlhood: girls lost and found, girls strong and weak, girls who burn bright and brighter--and some who flicker away.
About the Author :
Robin Wasserman is a graduate of Harvard University and the author of several successful novels for young adults. A recent recipient of a MacDowell fellowship, she lives in Brooklyn, New York. Girls on Fire is her first novel for adults.
Simone Lewis is an in-demand narrator with a background in film and stage acting. Original bio sent from Cassandra:
Cassandra Campbell began doing voice overs as the voice for Calvin Klein's Italian commercials. This was followed by commercial and documentary recording in both English and Italian. She has recorded many audiobooks and has received several AudioFile Earphones Awards as well as an Audie(R) Award nomination. As an actress and director, she has worked at the Public, the Mint, the Berkshire Theatre Festival, Stagewest, Theatreworks, the Baltimore Shakespeare Festival, Millmountain Theatre, the National Shakespeare Company, and the New York Fringe Festival.
Soneela Nankani is an award-winning narrator with over three hundred titles in many different genres including Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Sci-Fi, and Nonfiction. She has garnered sixteen Earphones Awards, nominations for Audie and SOVAS awards, and was recently awarded AudioFile magazine's Golden Voice Lifetime Achievement Honor. Her audiobooks have been featured in Best Audiobooks lists by AudioFile magazine and the Washington Post, among others. In her spare time, she loves to read (yes, really), learn languages, try new recipes, and travel. She lives in the DC area with her husband and two mischievous daughters.
Allyson Ryan is an Earphones Award-winning voice actress who can be heard in commercials, promos, animation, and audiobooks. She has extensive experience on stage and television. In New York, she acted in and directed more than thirty plays. Her television credits include roles on Eleventh Hour, Law & Order, and One Life to Live. She has also appeared as "Mom" in several television commercials. Advertising Age nominated her for a Bobby Award in the best actress category for her work as the Duracell mom.
Review :
"A book so wonderful, so terrible, so nightmarishly compelling that I hardly knew what to say when I finished. Wasserman has wrapped up a love story inside a murder mystery, a promise and a testament inside a confession--and has a title ever been truer? The reader comes away singed."
-- "Kelly Link, author of Get in Trouble"
"A dark, propulsive fever-dream of youth and friendship. I wanted to grab these girls and shake them, sing them lullabies, stop them--but all I could do was keep reading them, relentlessly enthralled by the heat-seeking missile of Robin Wasserman's fearless imagination."
-- "Leslie Jamison, author of The Empathy Exams"
"Although YA author Wasserman's adult debut may feature high-school students, it's strictly for more mature readers. The story unfolds as a maddening tease, with shocking events waiting around every corner--and an ending that will leave readers stunned."
-- "Booklist"
"Like lightning in a bottle, Robin Wasserman's Girls on Fire captures girlhood friendship in all its shattering intensity. A captivating, terrifying novel, and one you won't forget."
-- "Megan Abbott, Edgar Award-winning author of Dare Me"
"This is not a novel you'll put down after you pick it up, so clear some time. And it's not a novel you'll ever forget after you've read it--don't say you weren't warned. Wasserman is a brilliant writer, and Girls on Fire is a gorgeous gift of a novel."
-- "Laura Kasischke, Pushcart Prize-winning author of In a Perfect World"
"Wasserman combines an audacious coming-of-age tale with dark themes, placing her readers in a world influenced by Kurt Cobain, highly toxic female friendships, and ghastly incidents plaguing a quiet Pennsylvania town. The author's voice is powerful, and her story will linger with readers. "
-- "RT Book Reviews "
