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You Must Not Miss
Goodreads

You Must Not Miss

by Katrina Leno

“Channeling early Stephen King at his best” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review), You Must Not Miss is a twisted and suspenseful story of female rage for fans of One of Us Is Lying and Carrie.

Magpie Lewis started writing in her yellow notebook the day after her family self-destructed. The day her father ruined her mother’s life. The day Eryn, Magpie’s sister, skipped town and left her to fend for herself. The day of Brandon Phipp’s party.

Now Magpie is called a slut in the hallways of her high school, her former best friend won’t speak to her, and she spends her lunch period with a group of misfits who’ve all been as socially exiled as she has. And so, feeling trapped and forgotten, Magpie retreats to her notebook, dreaming up a magical place called Near.

Near is perfect–a place where her father never cheated, her mother never drank, and Magpie’s own life never derailed so suddenly. She imagines Near so completely, so fully, that she writes it into existence, right in her own backyard. At first, Near is a peaceful escape, but soon it becomes something darker, somewhere nightmares lurk and hidden truths come to light. Soon it becomes a place where Magpie can do anything she wants…even get her revenge.

You Must Not Miss is an intoxicating tale of magic, menace, and the monsters that live inside us all.

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Trade Paperback / ISBN-13: 9780316449793

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Praise

Praise for You Must Not Miss:
A 2020 CCBC Choice
 

* "Leno (Summer of Salt, 2018, etc.), channeling early Stephen King at his best, offers no neat conclusions, and her frank examination of depression, grief, alcoholism, and the ruinous aftermath of sexual assault, is grim yet effective. Readers will ponder this exceedingly creepy gut punch of a tale long after turning the last page."

—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

* "Compelling and harrowing.... Leno doesn't shy away from challenging themes... and she brings lyrically haunting language to a story filled with inherent darkness."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

* "Leno (Summer of Salt, 2018) takes a concept...and executes it with beautiful, brutal precision. Between the lines of spare and dreamlike prose lurks a girl who, though quiet at first, demands to be seen, and readers will not soon forget her."—Booklist (starred review)

"This unusual blend of realistic fiction, fantasy, and mayhem begs debate wherever it is read! Stock more than one copy."—VOYA

"A little bit Coraline, a little bit Stephen King.... A frank, unflinching look at grief, rage, depression, and how pain manifests as cruelty. You must not miss You Must Not Miss."—Mackenzie Vanengelenhoven, King's English Bookshop (Salt Lake City, UT)

"A mind-bender of a book."—Rosie Lee, Readers Books (Sonoma, CA)

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About the Author

Katrina Leno was born on the East Coast and currently lives in Los Angeles. She is the author of five critically acclaimed novels, The Half Life of Molly Pierce, The Lost & Found, Everything All at Once, Summer of Salt, and You Must Not Miss. While she has never eaten an entire book, she admits to tasting a page or two. You can visit her online at katrinaleno.com.

NOVL - Headshot photo of Katrina Leno

Point of (Re)views

“In the end, you'll be wondering how much of yourself you'd be willing to give up in order to have everything go your way...I'll have to look into more of what Katrina Leno has written, because I'm officially hooked!”
—Maura, NovelMaura

 

“I love how one moment I’m getting The Wayward Children vibes (secret doors!), and the next I’m feeling thoroughly creeped out (people in Near kept winking at Magpie. I don’t know why but that always gave me goosebumps.)”
—Amy, A Court of Crowns and Quills

 

“I was blown away by the topics covered in this novel and the way they were talked about from transgendered characters to sexual abuse were elegantly addressed.”
—Sahara, Litsy