The Suffering Tree - Softcover

Elle Cosimano grew up in the Washington, D.C., suburbs, the daughter of a maximum security prison warden and an elementary school teacher who rode a Harley. As a teen, she spent summers working on a fishing boat in the Chesapeake Bay. A failed student of the hard sciences, she discovered her true calling in social and behavioral studies while majoring in psychology at St. Mary's College of Maryland. Fifteen years later, Elle set aside a successful real-estate career to pursue writing. Her debut novel, Nearly Gone, was an Edgar Award Finalist, winner of the International Thriller Writers' Best Young Adult Novel Award, and winner of the inaugural Mathical Book Award recognizing mathematics in children's literature. Elle lives with her husband and two sons in Mexico, somewhere between the jungle and the sea. Website: www.ellecosimano.com. Twitter:@ellecosimano.

Gr 9 Up—Tori Burns and her family have inherited a house from a complete stranger on the eve of being evicted from their own home. Without question, they pack their things and move from Washington, DC, to Chaptica, MD. However, Chaptica is not the promised land the Burnses thought it would be. Tori starts having nightmares about a past she does not understand. The house in which they now live once belonged to the Slaughter family. For this reason, the Burnses are treated as interlopers. They also inherit 20 acres of land and a mysterious graveyard with a gigantic tree standing guard. A body crawls out of an ancient grave and introduces himself to Tori as Nathaniel Bishop, an indentured servant who lived on her land more than 300 years ago. Tori and Nathaniel uncover the truth about the Slaughter family, Tori's nightmares, Nathaniel's origin, and the land the Burnses have inherited. Cosimano tells this story by switching among Nathaniel's first-person flashbacks, Tori's nightmares, and details about what is currently happening to both of them. The pacing seems rough at first. Once the plot unfolds, however, the purpose of the flashbacks becomes apparent, as they reflect the tension between Tori and Nathaniel. The characters are well developed, and the plot is fresh. Overall, this book is enjoyable and will keep readers riveted. VERDICT Recommended for YA suspense collections.—Jeni Tahaney, Duncanville High School Library, TX