Underneath Everything

Gr 8 Up—"Once upon a time there were two little girls alone in the world." Mattie and Jolene are—or were—best friends. The friendship, one of extreme closeness, dependency, and even danger, has been over for a year, with neither girl talking to the other. The reason for the break? A boy named Hudson who was Mattie's boyfriend until she saw Hudson and Jolene kissing. And then there is Kris, Mattie's friend since first grade, when their teacher sat them next to each other. Kris is the reason Mattie missed her rendezvous with her boyfriend. Mattie withdraws from everything, except for collecting old maps. For reasons even she does not understand, she decides to attend a Thanksgiving bonfire. When she and Hudson reconnect, Mattie decides it is time to "take back" her life and her friends, but Jolene makes it difficult. Where does truth end, and where do lies begin? What is the difference between trust and blind devotion? In this novel about relationships—both good and bad ones—that goes beyond the "mean girls" concept to the darker places of obsession and toxic relationships, Mattie finds herself walking a narrow line between finding herself and being consumed. Paul compels readers to look beyond the surface at motives and emotions and perhaps examine their own relationships.