UNDERCURRENT

A blisteringly-paced novel for young adults, full of thrills, twists and surprises, surrounding a 16 year-old boy who survives going over a waterfall only to discover his town suddenly transformed and his reputation inexplicably sinister.

Sixteen-year-old Callum Harris never wanted to move to Crystal Falls. Neither did Cole, his fearless athletic older brother. And with their parents since separating, the past four years have taken an emotional toll on the pair.

But after being plucked half-dead from the river below the falls, everything changes for Callum. His best friend tries to smother him to death. The two hottest girls at school are suddenly at his fingertips. Even the town itself, many of whose residents appear to live in fear of him, has been physically transformed beyond imagination.

And most horrifying and puzzling of all, his longtime protector Cole is now inexplicably a shadow of his former self. Adjusting to this surreal new life a life both exhilarating and terrifying Callum struggles to reconcile his past memories with a dangerous and uncertain present. Who is he? Where is he? Or what, exactly, has he become?

P.J. Bracegirdle is the author of the middle-grade series THE JOY OF SPOOKING (S&S/McElderry) and the upcoming picture book THE DEAD FAMILY DIAZ (Penguin/Dial) to be released in 2012. The author will be writing under the name Paul Blackwell for his teen novel.