In small, religious Port Sabine, Texas, a newborn's body is found abandoned in a convenience-store dumpster. Amid intense uproar, the medical examiner rules the death a homicide, and the entire town casts eyes about for the murderer. Mercy Louis, Port Sabine's basketball superstar, is struggling to come to grips with a disastrous showing at the state semifinals that cost her a bundle of virtually guaranteed scholarships. Raised by her evangelical grandmother, Evelia, Mercy is haunted by a strong connection to the abandoned baby, especially now that her mother, Charmaine, has resurfaced and reminded Mercy of her own abandonment. In the heat of the hunt for the baby's murderer, Mercy faces the fallout from secrets held by her coach, by Evelia, and by Charmaine as her safety is threatened by those she most trusts. Past crimes run a dark thread through this coming-of-age fable that calls to mind Laura Lippman's stand-alone novels and even The Scarlet Letter. Parssinen excels here at capturing the dueling emotions that rule teenage girls' relationships, and the dire consequences of societal pressures.

An adult title that could have easily been published as YA. The teen protagonists are complicated and damaged, and the adults around them are clueless and sometimes cruel. At the heart of the story is Mercy Louis, a basketball star with a lifelong streak of control and perfection. She is at the end of her junior year in high school and coming off a devastating loss at the State basketball championship. What was supposed to be a triumph for her, her team, and her small Texas town, Port Sabine, has her numb with embarrassment. Like a harbinger of bad news, the team's loss begins a downward spiral for both Mercy and the town itself. The body of a newborn baby is found in a dumpster, and Port Sabine becomes a place that looks at its teenage girls with suspicion and contempt as police search for the child's mother. Along with the heat, tensions rise throughout the summer at home and in town. Mercy's long-lost mother reappears in her life, and the teen falls in love. Mercy finds herself wondering if being perfect and staying in control for God and basketball is what she wants after all. Her doubts will resonate with teens, especially those who have become disenchanted with authority figures and adult hypocrisy. Port Sabine's obsession with both Mercy and the virtues she represents make this dark coming-of-age story a compelling read. VERDICT Parssinen has created fully realized teen characters in a religious Southern small town straight out of a Carson McCullers short story. Meghan Cirrito, formerly at Brooklyn Public Library