Never Ending

January 20, 2014
Fifteen-year-old Siobhan, who goes by Shiv, feels responsible for her brother Declan’s death during what started out as a blissful family vacation in Greece. Though no one else believes that Declan’s death is Shiv’s fault, she feels the need to be held accountable. When Bedfyrd’s story opens, she is being checked into the Korsakoff Clinic, an unconventional therapeutic institution for people who have suffered “traumatic bereavement.” Shiv and a handful of teenage residents submit to alternative therapies designed to help them understand the losses that have brought them to the clinic. Bedford (Flip) narrates in third-person, shifting between Shiv’s present-day interactions and recovery and her memories of her family’s time in Greece, during which romance, jealousy, and sibling antagonism helped propel the unfolding tragedy. The author does a lovely job of highlighting the in-jokes, good-natured ribbing, and high-running emotions of a family on vacation together (making Declan’s death feel all the more real), and he draws out the mystery behind what actually happened to Declan, creating a tension that will keep readers curious until the final page. Ages 14–up. Agent: Tina Wexler, ICM.