Faith Gardner

A story that begins where too many others end, this stunningly written and unflinchingly authentic #ownvoices tale of love, loss, and hope will touch fans of All the Bright Places and Girl in Pieces. Life's tough when you didn't expect to be living it. But now that Journey has a future, she apparently also has to figure out what that future's supposed to look like. Some days the pain feels as fresh as that day: the day she attempted suicide. Her parents don't know how to speak to her. Her best friend cracks all the wrong jokes. Her bipolar II disorder feels like it swallows her completely. But other days--they feel like revelations. Like meeting the dazzling Etta, a city college student who is a world unto herself. Or walking into the office of the volunteer hotline, and discovering a community as simultaneously strong and broken as she is. Or uncovering the light within herself that she didn't know existed. Praise for Faith Gardner's The Second Life of Ava Rivers: "A beautiful, moving, and thoughtful story about how far we're willing to go for family." --Kathleen Glasgow, New York Times bestselling author of Girl in Pieces "This remarkable novel reproduces the personal and family trauma associated with the loss and recovery of a missing child. The Second Life of Ava Rivers is an enthralling tale." --Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA) (starred review) "Gardner's unforgettable voice blends Jodi Picoult's emotional, ripped-from-the-headlines storytelling with Mindy McGinnis's unflinchingly honest protagonists." --Booklist (starred review) "Gardner brings a unique tenderness focused on the human dynamics of creating family and individual identity in the face of tragedy." --Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (starred review)

Girl on the Line

THREE STARRED REVIEWS "Remarkable."--VOYA "Genre-defying."--Booklist "Deeply compelling."--BCCB "A beautiful, moving, and thoughtful story about how far we're willing to go for family." -Kathleen Glasgow, New York Times bestselling author of Girl in Pieces Vera Rivers' life is split in two: before her twin sister Ava disappeared twelve years ago and after. Before was hot Junes and ice cream trucks, dancing in sprinklers, loud Christmas mornings and pancakes on Saturdays. The after is everything else: police officers, investigators, tips, theories, leads, but never any answers. The case made headlines, shocked Vera's Northern California community, and turned her family into tragic celebrities. Now, at eighteen, Vera is counting down the days until she starts her new life at college in Portland, Oregon, far away from the dark cloud she and her family have lived under for twelve years. But all that changes when a girl shows up at the local hospital. Her name is Ava Rivers and she wants to go home. Ava's return begins to mend the fractures in the Rivers family. Vera and Ava's estranged older brother returns. Vera reconnects with Max, the sweet, artistic boy from her childhood. Their parents smile again. But the questions remain: Where was Ava all these years? And who is she now? Powerful and gripping, The Second Life of Ava Rivers is equal parts thriller, mystery, and haunting meditation on grief, family, and forgiveness.

The Second Life of Ava Rivers

The after is all Vera remembers. When her twin sister, Ava, disappeared one Halloween night, her childhood became a blur of theories, tips, and leads, but never any answers. The case made headlines, shocked Vera s Northern California community, and turned her family into tragic celebrities.

The second life of Ava Rivers

For readers of This Is How It Ends and All the Bright Places, How We Ricochet takes an intimate and unflinching look into the devastating consequences of a mass shooting for one girl and her close-knit family, from Faith Gardner, acclaimed author of Girl on the Line.

It seems sometimes a charade that we continue celebrating in the face of relentless tragedy.

How dare we? But then . . . what else is there to do?

Betty’s mom needed new pants for her job.

That was why Betty was at the mall with her mom and sister when the shooting started.

Afterward, nothing is the same.

There are no easy answers to be found, and Betty’s search for them leads her to Michael, the brother of the shooter. But this path only shows Betty one thing: that everything she thought she knew—about herself, about the world around her—can change in a heartbeat.

A moving, powerful journey of life after tragedy, How We Ricochet is a fearless and necessary story for our time that will resonate with readers everywhere.

How We Ricochet

Amen Maxine

The mirror house girls

"It's playtime." Leela's enemies are dying. They appear to be unrelated suicides, but she refuses to believe in mere coincidence. Someone is targeting these victims. But why? A single clue emerges, leading her to believe these deaths are linked to a cover-up job she did when she worked PR for the tech goliath Jolvix. It involves a high-tech novelty weapon, shrouded in secrecy, one she's legally forbidden from discussing with anyone-including the hungry writer publishing an exposé on Jolvix who's itching to get the full scoop. The body count is rising. And the further this deadly game goes, the more Leela becomes implicated as a possible suspect. To find the real killer, Leela must return to the sinister web of her former company and dive deep into the dark secrets buried in her past. Because if she doesn't find the serial killer soon, it's game over for Leela, too.

The Slaying Game

'Tis the season for another dysfunctional family Christmas story ... This time, with murder. And robots. The Jaggers were once a tight-knit family. But after their mother's tragic death years ago, the four children and their father have drifted further apart. The children grew up, moved away, and now have lives of their own. And Dad? Well, let's just say his new live-in friend January also has a permanent residence in the uncanny valley. After a disturbing, violent Christmas two years ago the Jaggers wish they could forget, they're reuniting in their childhood southern California home dubbed "the Pink Castle" to give celebrating the holidays one more shot this year. But in the days before they gather, the children each get a sinister note that reads Your mother was murdered. Could this be the bizarre work of January? Or is one of the Jaggers hiding a horrible, guilty secret? A domestic suspense novel with a sci-fi twist, this book is part of the Jolvix Episodes.

What January Remembers

A new marriage. A perfect home. A machine that says it's all a lie. Welcome to Silicon Valley, where the weather is perfect, the income is high ... and Rowena Snyder is miserable. A transplant from New York, Rowena moved into her husband Jacob's idyllic childhood home with their new baby. But suburbia isn't Rowena's cup of Starbucks. And she's got serious anxiety and depression to boot. Jacob, worried about their marriage, scores a new product currently in beta testing from his tech job: Maxine, a "digital friend" that bonds with an individual by continually gathering their personal data. Along with functioning like an upscale digital assistant, Maxine has "advice" and "prediction" modes that have shown promise for patients with mental health issues. To Rowena's shock, the device turns out to be not just helpful, but eerily accurate, predicting events before they occur. It's a godsend until Maxine offers a series of increasingly bone-chilling predictions that will change Rowena's life forever. This domestic suspense novel set in a near-future dystopia asks, who do you trust more-your mind, your man, or your machine?

A new marriage.A perfect home.An ominous warning that it's all a lie.Rowena Snyder has the life she's always wanted. So why is everything falling apart?Moving to the suburbs was supposed to be easy. Instead, Rowena struggles with panic attacks, a husband who wants her on medication, and the isolation of new motherhood. As if that weren't enough, a suspicious house fire at her baby's birthday party threatens to send her over the edge.When her husband brings home a product in beta testing at his Silicon Valley tech firm, Rowena feels it's a godsend. She uses it for everything. A digital assistant, a mental health supporter, even a friend.But "Maxine" is more than a digital assistant. Its algorithm collects data to predict future events. And soon Maxine's bone-chilling predictions threaten to shatter Rowena's new suburban life to pieces.Who can she trust? Herself? Her man? Or her eerily accurate new friend, Maxine?

The Prediction

Two strangers. One phone.Everything on the line.Rising rock star Violet is kidnapped from her Los Angeles home in a near-future dystopia. She wakes up locked in a cabin in the middle of nowhere with a mysterious note and a burner phone that only dials one unfamiliar number. Construction worker Bud answers a call from his Bay Area apartment and a stranger's on the line claiming to have been kidnapped and locked in a cabin.The note says they have one week to figure out the connection between them. Otherwise someone out there-or something-will take her life.A psychological thriller with a sci-fi twist, this book is part of The Jolvix Episodes.

Violet Is Nowhere

An edge-of-your-seat psychological thriller novella.When an outspoken writer buys the car of her dreams, it turns into a full-speed nightmare.Eve Alexopoulos is a journalist, but you'd be better off calling her what she really is: a professional troll-hunter. For a couple of years now, her column "What's Your Problem, Bro?" has been exposing some of the most outrageous online trolls to hold them publicly accountable for their abusive behavior.Her column has been so successful, she got a fat book advance-one big enough to afford a Sunray, the most cutting-edge vehicle available. Sleek, self-driving, solar-powered, with every car custom-programmed by an engineer at the tech goliath company Jolvix.Too bad the engineer who programmed her new Sunray isn't a big fan of Eve's work.Because now her life's about to make a sharp U-turn into unthinkable terror.Eve in Overdrive is one of the Jolvix Episodes, standalone psychological thrillers set in the same universe.

Eve in Overdrive

An epic scam. Juicy secrets. A man whose love language is lies.Pearl Blackwood is waiting tables in San Francisco with dreams of one day opening her own restaurant when she meets Christopher McKinney: charming, sophisticated, a brilliant expert in deepfake technology, and the first person in her life who truly believes in her. Together, there's nothing they can't do. There's just one little problem-he also happens to be a psychopath.As Pearl falls for Christopher and their lives become entwined, the line between fantasy and reality blurs. Nothing is what it seems. And the more she tries to free herself from his grip, the tighter it becomes.She can move to a new city. She can begin again. But she soon learns she can never escape him.Buckle up, Pearl. It's about to get real.

Pearl in Deep

The family that slays together, stays together. The Hunters appear to be the textbook definition of a perfect family leading a charmed life. When the enigmatic Olivia West befriends teenage daughter Eliza, Olivia becomes one of the family-an "honorary Hunter." Here's what they don't know about Olivia: she's planning a murder. And whether they like it or not, every member of this family is going to become an accomplice. And here's what Olivia doesn't know about the Hunters: they've killed before. And if Olivia threatens their reputation, they will absolutely kill again.

Faith Gardner

About

Books

Join the club