Sixteen-year-old Cara Tang has been able to see ghosts since she was a child, but her power is more a burden than a blessing.Raised by Laolao, her late grandmother, who is both a ghost and a powerful ghost speaker, and her anxious, protective single mother, who has repressed her own ability to see ghosts, Chinese American Cara feels caught between the two women, unable to fully embrace or reject her ghost-speaking inheritance. When she stumbles across the snake-bitten corpse of Zach Coleson, a handsome, wealthy, and irritating white boy who's been her rival since childhood, she turns to Laolao for help. Her grandmother informs Cara of the existence of the Signet Snake, a harbinger of destruction whose lethal bite can be undone within seven days using antivenom from the snake's counterpart residing in the liminal world. Zach's ghost agrees to Cara's bargain-$12,000 and a college recommendation letter from his influential dad in return for his resurrection-and the two set off on a dangerous journey across magical landscapes. Cara's also contending with a growing awareness that her feelings for Zach-an unexpectedly resourceful and protective adventuring partner-might burn hotter than mere annoyance. Aside from a sprinkling of Chinese lore and original mythology, this ornately written debut focuses on themes of legacy and self-acceptance through Cara's internal struggle with being a ghost speaker. The romantic tension running throughout is palpable but needs a little more substance to make the leads' attraction feel completely convincing.Enjoyably atmospheric. (Paranormal. 13-18)

Almost-17-year-old Chinese American Cara Tang is a ghost speaker—a human who can communicate with the dead—who lives in Autumn Falls with her single mother. Though Cara’s late laolao believed that she should use her powers to help spirits, Cara’s mother insists that she suppress her abilities to focus on school. Mom also admonishes Cara for getting into arguments with classmates, particularly white-cued swim captain Zacharias Coleson. Following a series of unnerving events leading up to Halloween, Cara finds Zach’s ghost and dead body in the nearby woods. After being bitten by a Signet Snake—described by Laolao as “an intelligent agent of chaos”—Zach becomes trapped between life and death, with only seven days to find an antidote to resurrect him. Cara agrees to help, sending the two on a mission to a liminal world where they must battle carnivorous shopkeepers and monstrous plants to obtain the cure before time runs out. Descriptions of the spirit world are often repetitive, stemming narrative momentum, but debut author Sun keeps the character dynamics feeling fresh and energetic via snappy dialogue and descriptions of Cara’s growing into her powers. Ages 13–up. Agent: Paige Terlip, Andrea Brown Literary. (Sept.)