In this suspenseful, transfixing YA thriller, a teen "armchair detective" becomes involved in the disappearance of a social media star when she realizes she knows the main suspect.
"Strikingly blond" 18-year-old Kiri is a possible suspect in the disappearance of her survivalist influencer boyfriend, Callum, with whom she was traveling cross-country to test their "desert survival skills." Sam, a former true-crime podcaster fascinated by sensationalist stories, remembers Kiri from high school as Kate, a "mousy" girl who hunched over "to minimize her Valkyrie-ness." Sam decides that befriending Kiri to find out what happened to Callum might be the change she needs in order to stop feeling like a "waste of space" in her own life. She gains Kiri's trust and learns about her relationship with Callum, as well as the events that led up to his disappearance. But Kiri has gotten into the habit of "creative fictioning," and Sam finds herself entangled in Kiri's lies--too compromised now to reveal the truth.
In Only She Came Back, Margot Harrison (We Made It All Up) smartly addresses important social topics including mental health, survivalist culture, and parasocial relationships while delivering a gripping, addictive narrative full of unexpected twists and turns. Harrison artfully uses diary entries, news articles, and video transcripts that sometimes reveal conflicting information to build suspense and create doubt in readers' minds. These elements add intrigue, but they also provide background on Kiri and Callum's unhealthy relationship, deftly showing the effects of emotional abuse and grooming. This twisted thriller is both compelling and insightful. --Lana Barnes, freelance reviewer and proofreader