You Were Never Here by Kathleen Peacock

Abstract

Reviewed by: You Were Never Here by Kathleen Peacock Kate Quealy-Gainer, Assistant Editor Peacock, Kathleen You Were Never Here. HarperTeen, 2020 [400p] Trade ed. ISBN 9780063002517 $17.99 E-book ed. ISBN 9780063002531 $9.99 Reviewed from digital galleys R Gr. 7-10 When seventeen-year-old Cat returns to Montgomery Falls after five years, she's shocked to discover that her childhood friend Riley has been missing for three months, though the golden-boy jock people talk about seems like a far cry from the nerdy OCD sufferer she knew. Riley's older brother is convinced something nefarious happened to Riley and begs for Cat's help, knowing that she has the power to see people's deepest desires and fears just by touch—a power that Cat can barely control and that tore her and Riley apart in the first place. When a nearly dead girl is found in a river with no memory of what happened to her, Cat realizes she has to harness her visions to figure out who or what is attacking kids in Montgomery Falls. Paced with precision and rife with red herrings and blind alleys, this deliciously taut thriller delivers both in its supernatural intrigue and its ultimate exploration of the banality of human evil. Cat is a fully fleshed out character in the throes of late adolescence, struggling with family dynamics, future plans, and two potential love interests, and that all plays out organically next to the unfolding mystery. It's refreshing, too, that her abilities are not a given in their accuracy or interpretation, and her visions can be influenced by her own insecurities and perceptions, giving her character a relatable vulnerability. The revelation of the killer is not surprising, but Cat's narrow escape from him is edge-of-your-seat material. [End Page 97] Copyright © 2020 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois