Publisher Description

Can you save someone from something that's already happened?

Daniel's expectations for his forced vacation with his father at the Leisure World Holiday Complex are low. He hates sports, and his father is mostly lost in drink and depression. But then he sees a strange girl swimming in the fake lake, and everything changes. Lexi has a smart mouth and a killer swim stroke, but dark secrets swirl around her. She's got bruises and cuts that seem to be getting worse instead of better. She's always alone. And her watch is ticking backwards. When a dark figure begins to stalk Lexi and Daniel, the truth must come out. This gripping ghost story will raise goose bumps and questions: does a traumatic past mean the future is a foregone conclusion?

Author Biography

Edward Hogan's first adult novel, Blackmoor, was short-listed for the London Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award and the Dylan Thomas prize. This is his first young adult novel. He lives in the U.K.

Review

Daniel's tale is a sturdy coming-of-age narrative . . .The strength of Hogan's complexly drawn relationships grounds readers in this unique and eerie sort-of ghost story.
—The Horn Book

A teen spends a harrowing week at an English holiday sports complex, where he befriends the ghost of a young woman doomed to repeat the last brutal hours of her life. . . .Lexi's appropriately quirky and enigmatic, while Daniel's a vulnerable, likable (but unlikely) hero, whose confidence grows through his sympathetic, quasi-romantic encounter; his first-person narration adds immediacy and resonance. An intriguing ghost story.
—Kirkus Reviews

This is a well-paced and emotionally effective tale, and fans of the recent narrated-from-beyond books will appreciate seeing things from the point of view of those left behind.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Hogan not only delivers chills galore but also creates empathy for his cast of vulnerable, idiosyncratic people with their own desires to change the past. The disturbing undertone to the plastic fun of Leisure World provides a nice atmospheric counterpart for this unusual ghost story.
—Booklist

The book succeeds in being creepy and atmospheric.
—School Library Journal

This novel will appeal to teens on many levels. It is not only a riveting mystery and a spine-tingling ghost story, it also deftly explores real-life trauma faced by young people.
—Library Media Connection

Review Quote

Daniel's tale is a sturdy coming-of-age narrative . . .The strength of Hogan's complexly drawn relationships grounds readers in this unique and eerie sort-of ghost story. --The Horn Book A teen spends a harrowing week at an English holiday sports complex, where he befriends the ghost of a young woman doomed to repeat the last brutal hours of her life. . . .Lexi's appropriately quirky and enigmatic, while Daniel's a vulnerable, likable (but unlikely) hero, whose confidence grows through his sympathetic, quasi-romantic encounter; his first-person narration adds immediacy and resonance. An intriguing ghost story. --Kirkus Reviews This is a well-paced and emotionally effective tale, and fans of the recent narrated-from-beyond books will appreciate seeing things from the point of view of those left behind. --Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books Hogan not only delivers chills galore but also creates empathy for his cast of vulnerable, idiosyncratic people with their own desires to change the past. The disturbing undertone to the plastic fun of Leisure World provides a nice atmospheric counterpart for this unusual ghost story. --Booklist The book succeeds in being creepy and atmospheric. --School Library Journal This novel will appeal to teens on many levels. It is not only a riveting mystery and a spine-tingling ghost story, it also deftly explores real-life trauma faced by young people. --Library Media Connection

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