
Her father died before she was born, but Ella Benton knows they have a supernatural connection. Since her mother discourages these beliefs, Ella keeps her cemetery visits secret. But she may not be the only one with secrets. Ella’s mother might be lying about how Dad died sixteen years ago. New found evidence points to his death in a psychiatric hospital, not as a result of a tragic car accident as her mother always claimed. After a lifetime of just the two of them, Mom suddenly feels like a stranger. When a handprint much like the one Ella left on her father’s tombstone mysteriously appears on the bathroom mirror, at first she wonders if Dad is warning her of danger as he did once before. If it’s not a warning, could her new too-good-to-be-true boyfriend be responsible for the strange occurrences? Or maybe it’s the grieving building superintendent whose dead daughter strongly resembles Ella? As the unexplained events become more frequent and more sinister, Ella becomes terrified about who—or what—might harm her. Soon the evidence points to someone else entirely: Ella herself. What if, like her father, she’s suffering from a breakdown? In this second novel from award-winning author Yvonne Ventresca, Ella desperately needs to find answers, no matter how disturbing the truth might be.
Author

Yvonne Ventresca writes thrilling novels and short stories that explore topics like deadly diseases, gaslighting, and hauntings. Her latest short story, "The Third Ghost," won the eponymous honor for the middle grade anthology VOYAGERS: THE THIRD GHOST (for ages 9-12). Her young adult novel, BLACK FLOWERS, WHITE LIES (Sky Pony Press, 2016) won a National IPPY Gold Medal for YA fiction in 2017. Justine Magazine said "This one will keep you guessing" and according to BuzzFeed, BLACK FLOWERS, WHITE LIES "definitely won't disappoint." Yvonne's debut YA novel, PANDEMIC, won a Crystal Kite Award from the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. "This fast read will appeal to fans of Susan Beth Pfeffer’s LIFE AS WE KNEW IT," Booklist said. Her other works include short stories selected for anthologies along with two nonfiction books. Yvonne holds an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. You can learn more about her at YvonneVentresca.com, where she also features resources for teen writers.