Nearly Gone

Nearly Gone

4.9 10
by Elle Cosimano
     
 

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Bones meets Fringe in a big, dark, scary, brilliantly-plotted urban thriller that will leave you guessing until the very end

Nearly Boswell knows how to keep secrets. Living in a DC trailer park, she knows better than to share anything that would make her a target with her classmates. Like her mother's job as an exotic dancer, her obsession

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Overview

Bones meets Fringe in a big, dark, scary, brilliantly-plotted urban thriller that will leave you guessing until the very end

Nearly Boswell knows how to keep secrets. Living in a DC trailer park, she knows better than to share anything that would make her a target with her classmates. Like her mother's job as an exotic dancer, her obsession with the personal ads, and especially the emotions she can taste when she brushes against someone's skin. But when a serial killer goes on a killing spree and starts attacking students, leaving cryptic ads in the newspaper that only Nearly can decipher, she confides in the one person she shouldn't trust: the new guy at school—a reformed bad boy working undercover for the police, doing surveillance. . . on her.

Nearly might be the one person who can put all the clues together, and if she doesn't figure it all out soon—she'll be next.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly
01/13/2014
In an impressive debut, Cosimano delivers a tense thriller that sees a teenage math whiz pitted against a serial killer who’s knocking off her classmates in increasingly fiendish ways. When 16-year-old Nearly “Leigh” Boswell discovers that a killer is leaving her coded messages in the newspaper personals, she becomes the only one capable of solving the murders. But all of the evidence points to her as the chief suspect—someone’s making it extremely personal. With her only ally being the teenage narc (and resident bad boy) assigned to investigate her for the police, Leigh must somehow solve the case before she loses her friends, her freedom, or her life. Cosimano weaves together math riddles, science-based clues, an edgy romance, and psychological terror to create an unpredictable page-turner. Nearly’s psychometric ability to glean emotions through touch is somewhat underexploited, and some of the clues are so blatant it’s a wonder she overlooks them. Nevertheless, this is a good choice for fans of “savant” procedurals and dramas like Bones, Elementary, or Numbers. Ages 14–up. Agent: Sarah Davies, Greenhouse Literary Agency. (Mar.)
Voice of Youth Advocates

"A suspenseful page-turner that will leave teens on the edge of their seats. Cosimano's character development makes almost everyone a suspect."
Kim Harrington

"Fast-paced, smart, and keeps you guessing till the end. Start this book with a clear schedule because you won't be able to put it down!"
Megan Miranda

"Smart, scary, and beautifully written. An amazing debut that kept me on the edge of my seat to the very last page."
Megan Shepard
"A smart, gripping thriller about a clever girl from the trailer park, a boy from the wrong side of the law, and a killer who kept me guessing. This chilling murder mystery left me racing to the finish and biting my nails every step of the way."
Megan Shepherd

"A smart, gripping thriller about a clever girl from the trailer park, a boy from the wrong side of the law, and a killer who kept me guessing. This chilling murder mystery left me racing to the finish and biting my nails every step of the way."
Jill Hathaway

"A hell of a ride. Cosimano's twisted characters and breakneck pacing had me tearing through the pages to discover the killer. Just be prepared to stay up past your bedtime!"
Library Media Connection

"Nearly Gone is the best mystery I have read in a long time. It is extremely character-driven; the cryptic clues are cleverly worked into the novel."
The Horn Book

"The plot moves at a breakneck pace, picking up along the way a first-rate romance...And STEM enthusiasts can rejoice: the killer's riddles--including the puzzle of what the victims' numbers mean--involve algebra, geometry, chemistry, physics, even astronomy. This is an addictive and multilayered debut; Cosimano has established herself as a thriller writer to watch."
From the Publisher
"The story's single supernatural element. . . is woven deftly into the story, the romance plot is compelling. Tense and engaging—well worth the effort of suspending one's disbelief." — Kirkus Reviews

"A suspenseful page-turner that will leave teens on the edge of their seats. Cosimano's character development makes almost everyone a suspect." — Voice of Youth Advocates, 4Q 4P

"Cosimano weaves together math riddles, science-based clues, an edgy romance, and psychological terror to create an unpredictable page-turner....A good choice for fans of "savant" procedurals and dramas like Bones, Elementary, or Numbers." — Publishers Weekly

"Fast-paced, smart, and keeps you guessing till the end. Start this book with a clear schedule because you won't be able to put it down!" — Kim Harrington, author of THE DEAD AND BURIED and FORGET ME

"Smart, scary, and beautifully written. An amazing debut that kept me on the edge of my seat to the very last page." — Megan Miranda, author of FRACTURE and HYSTERIA

"A smart, gripping thriller about a clever girl from the trailer park, a boy from the wrong side of the law, and a killer who kept me guessing. This chilling murder mystery left me racing to the finish and biting my nails every step of the way." — Megan Shepherd, author of THE MADMAN'S DAUGHTER

"A hell of a ride. Cosimano's twisted characters and breakneck pacing had me tearing through the pages to discover the killer. Just be prepared to stay up past your bedtime!" — Jill Hathaway, author of SLIDE

"Eloquently written and packed full of suspense, debut author Cosimano strikes gold with this page-turning thriller that will have teens chomping at the bit to get to the end. Give this to fans of Kimberly Derting's The Body Finder (HarperCollins, 2010) or anyone else who is looking for a captivating murder mystery." — School Library Journal (starred review)

"The plot moves at a breakneck pace, picking up along the way a first-rate romance...And STEM enthusiasts can rejoice: the killer's riddles—including the puzzle of what the victims' numbers mean—involve algebra, geometry, chemistry, physics, even astronomy. This is an addictive and multilayered debut; Cosimano has established herself as a thriller writer to watch." — The Horn Book

"Nearly Gone is the best mystery I have read in a long time. It is extremely character-driven; the cryptic clues are cleverly worked into the novel." — Library Media Connection

VOYA - Erin Segreto
At West River High School, Nearly Boswell is used to being "Nearly Invisible" to her classmates and she prefers it that way. Only her close friends, Jeremy and Anh, really know about her life living in Sunny View Trailer Park with her exotic dancer mother and non-existent father who abandoned them when Nearly was a small child. When she is not studying for the chemistry scholarship that she believes is her ticket out of Sunny View and to a better future, she is tutoring other students and scouring the personal ads for hidden messages from her father. When the students she is helping start turning up dead and cryptic clues appear in the personals, it becomes clear that someone is trying to send her a message and she might be next on the murderer's list. When Reece Whelen, a mysterious new student with a dangerous past, takes an intimate interest in her, Nearly finds herself drawn to him but unsure if she can trust him or anyone else. Nearly Gone, the author's debut novel, is a suspenseful page-turner that will leave teens on the edge of their seats. Cosimano's character development makes almost everyone a suspect, and action and mystery readers will enjoy this whodunit until the very end. It includes mature themes of homicide, drug abuse, prostitution, and organized crime, but Cosimano handles this with age-appropriate accuracy, making it relatable and appropriate to the story's gritty setting. A couple of the characters lack believability as teens, but Cosimano gives each character importance and ties up all loose ends. Ultimately, Nearly overcomes her wallflower tendencies and plays an important role in finding the killer. Reviewer: Erin Segreto
School Library Journal
★ 02/01/2014
Gr 9 Up—In this suspenseful and thrilling murder mystery, high school junior Nearly Boswell is struggling to get by in a Washington, DC trailer park with her single mother, who works the night shift at a local strip club. Any chance she has of escaping her miserable life is dependent on a highly competitive scholarship for which she and her best friend are vying against each other. Everything is going according to plan until Nearly spots an eerie personal ad in the local newspaper-an ad that ends up being a clue in the attempted murder of one of her classmates. She soon finds another clue in the following week's paper leading to another murder. And then another. The police won't take her seriously, and when the hints start pointing in her direction, Nearly becomes their number one suspect. The only person she can trust is bad boy Reece, whom she suspects is working with the police to keep a close eye on her. The clock is ticking, and Nearly must hurry to solve the homicides, and prove her own innocence, before it is too late. There is a hint of the paranormal in this murder mystery, as Nearly has an unusual gift that allows her to "taste" the emotions of others when she touches their skin. Eloquently written and packed full of suspense, debut author Cosimano strikes gold with this page-turning thriller that will have teens chomping at the bit to get to the end. Give this to fans of Kimberly Derting's The Body Finder (HarperCollins, 2010) or anyone else who is looking for a captivating murder mystery.—Candyce Pruitt-Goddard, Hartford Public Library, CT
Kirkus Reviews
2014-01-08
In a suspenseful high school whodunit, AP chemistry student Nearly "Leigh" Boswell investigates a series of murders for which someone is trying to frame her. Every week, Leigh (which she really prefers to her given name, Nearly) combs the missed-connections ads in her local paper, hoping for word from the father who disappeared years ago. On the day her chemistry teacher lectures the class about Schrödinger's cat, Leigh spots an eerie outlier among the messages: "Newton was wrong....Find me tonight under the bleachers." After a math tutee's brutal attack, a scrawled warning in Leigh's desk, and a dead cat delivered to Leigh's doorstep, complete with Schrödinger reference, a second science-themed personal ad convinces Leigh that something nefarious is afoot. With regard to believability, the science-class conceits are as tricky to swallow as the idea that a teenager in 2014 browses print personals. But the point here isn't realism—it's puzzles. Cryptic missed-connections clues, a sequence of numbers left on the victims' bodies, and of course, the identity and motive of the murderer leave plenty for readers to contemplate as Leigh rushes to crime scenes and runs from the police. The story's single supernatural element—when Leigh touches people, she experiences their emotions—is woven deftly into the story, and the romance plot is compelling. Tense and engaging—well worth the effort of suspending one's disbelief. (Mystery. 12-18)

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Product Details

ISBN-13:
9780142424513
Publisher:
Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:
05/05/2015
Pages:
416
Sales rank:
100,362
Product dimensions:
5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.20(d)
Age Range:
14 Years

What People are saying about this

From the Publisher
Praise for Nearly Gone:

"The story's single supernatural element. . . is woven deftly into the story, the romance plot is compelling. Tense and engaging—well worth the effort of suspending one's disbelief."—Kirkus Reviews

"A suspenseful page-turner that will leave teens on the edge of their seats. Cosimano's character development makes almost everyone a suspect."—Voice of Youth Advocates

"Cosimano weaves together math riddles, science-based clues, an edgy romance, and psychological terror to create an unpredictable page-turner....A good choice for fans of "savant" procedurals and dramas like Bones, Elementary, or Numbers."—Publishers Weekly

• "Eloquently written and packed full of suspense, debut author Cosimano strikes gold with this page-turning thriller that will have teens chomping at the bit to get to the end. Give this to fans of Kimberly Derting's The Body Finder (HarperCollins, 2010) or anyone else who is looking for a captivating murder mystery."—School Library Journal, starred review

"The plot moves at a breakneck pace, picking up along the way a first-rate romance...And STEM enthusiasts can rejoice: the killer's riddles—including the puzzle of what the victims' numbers mean—involve algebra, geometry, chemistry, physics, even astronomy. This is an addictive and multilayered debut; Cosimano has established herself as a thriller writer to watch."—The Horn Book

"Fast-paced, smart, and keeps you guessing till the end. Start this book with a clear schedule because you won't be able to put it down!"—Kim Harrington, author of THE DEAD AND BURIED and FORGET ME

"Smart, scary, and beautifully written. An amazing debut that kept me on the edge of my seat to the very last page."—Megan Miranda, author of FRACTURE and HYSTERIA 

"A hell of a ride. Cosimano's twisted characters and breakneck pacing had me tearing through the pages to discover the killer. Just be prepared to stay up past your bedtime!"—Jill Hathaway, author of SLIDE

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