Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Jun 2017
240 pages
Genre: Mysteries
Publication Information
Like a contemporary take on Libba Bray's Gemma Doyle, Marnie Wells comes face-to-face with the occult, discovering she can tell the future by reading tea leaves.
Marnie Wells knows that she creeps people out. It's not really her fault; her brother is always in trouble, and her grandmother, who's been their guardian since Mom took off is ... eccentric. So no one even bats an eye when Marnie finds an old book about reading tea leaves and starts telling fortunes. The ceremony and symbols are weirdly soothing, but she knows - and hopes everyone else does too - that none of it's real.
Then basketball star Matt Cotrell asks for a reading. He's been getting emails from someone claiming to be his best friend, Andrea Quinley, who disappeared and is presumed dead. And while they'd always denied they were romantically involved, a cloud of suspicion now hangs over Matt. But Marnie sees a kindred spirit: someone who, like her, is damaged by association.
Suddenly, the readings seem real. And, despite the fact that they're telling Marnie things about Matt that make him seem increasingly dangerous, she can't shake her initial attraction to him. In fact, it's getting stronger. And that could turn out to be deadly.
"Starred Review. Arsenault's page-ripping whodunit not only will send readers running for their tea kettles, but packs the thrill of self-discovery and acceptance amid base adversity: a rich, rewarding teen debut." - Kirkus
"Mystery writer Arsenault makes a solid foray into YA, though the story moves more slowly than some readers might expect. Marnie is a well-developed protagonist whose concern with how others perceive her family is immensely relatable, but the book's secondary characters are less memorable. The incorporation of tea-leaf reading, including the ceremony and symbolism of the art, adds a distinctive element to a mystery that's well worth a read. Ages 14–up." - Publishers Weekly
"More eerie than frightening, this is an atmospheric tale laced with hints of magic. Thoughtful, careful Marnie and her hobby-turned-calling will endear themselves to readers looking for a slowly unfolding mystery." - Booklist
"Left me guessing until the last, utterly delicious page! I loved the heroine's cynical sense of humor, while fearing for her every minute of this taut, deftly written thriller about a community that clearly cares only for a certain kind of girl. Emily Arsenault is a YA writer to watch!" - Meg Cabot, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Princess Diaries
"Arsenault's debut YA is an entertaining, potent brew of sinister secrets, convincing twists, and no shortage of suspects. Teen fans of old-school crime masters like Agatha Christie and Lois Duncan will happily drink this up." - James Klise, Edgar Award–winning author of The Art of Secrets
"Mysterious and romantic, full of twists and revelations that kept me turning pages long into the night, The Leaf Reader is one of those special books I hadn't even known I'd been searching for." - Kara Thomas, author of The Darkest Corners
This information about The Leaf Reader was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Emily Arsenault is the author of several literary mysteries, including In Search of the Rose Notes, a Wall Street Journal Best Book of the Year; The Broken Teaglass, a New York Times Notable Crime Book; and The Evening Spider. She lives in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts, with her husband and daughter. The Leaf Reader is her first young adult novel.
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