Excerpt from The Easy Part of Impossible by Sarah Tomp, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

Cotton tilted his head like he didn't understand the question. Then said, slowly, "We explore. We walk around. We see what we find."

"So it's like hiking, but in the dark?"

He frowned, and for a minute she thought she'd said something wrong. But then he laughed.

"We're also mapping it," said Leo.

"What does it look like inside?"

"Well," said Cotton, settling back on his heels, "it's dark. And damp. There are tunnels and rooms. And there's a small stream. There are several different geologic formations and types of crystals." He pulled a small notebook from one of his many coverall pockets, opened to a page filled with lines and shapes. He traced one of the darker lines with his finger and started talking faster. More animated. "You come in this way, and there are two different paths. This one"—he circled one side—"ends with a stone wall. But the other side opens up after a narrow tunnel. It's actually quite amazing." His enthusiasm poured out, filling the space between them.

"It's not something for everyone to know about. It's kind of a secret." Leo sounded borderline threatening.

"I can keep a secret." She stepped back. "You don't have to worry about me."

"Ria is not like normal girls."

Damn. She and Cotton had each spent plenty of time not fitting in, but she hadn't expected to hear the obvious truth so harshly stated.

"We can trust her."

He smiled suddenly, showing one crooked tooth on the side. Not enough to be snaggled, but more like it had its own ideas about the way it should go. Reflexively, she ran her tongue over her own teeth, feeling for the chipped spot. It was still there, even if it was too tiny for anyone else to notice.

Excerpted from The Easy Part of Impossible by Sarah Tomp. Copyright © 2020 by Sarah Tomp. Excerpted by permission of HarperTeen. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.