Day’s YA: ANNIE LEBLANC IS NOT DEAD YET

ANNIE LEBLANC IS NOT DEAD YET by Molly Morris
9781250290069
6/4/2024
Wednesday Books
Ages 13-18

E-galley available on Edelweiss and NetGalley

Wilson Moss’ life hasn’t been the same since things fell apart with her two best friends, Ryan and Annie. The three of them had been close since childhood until Annie transferred to a new high school their junior year and completely dropped out of their lives. Shortly after, Ryan and Wil fell out with each other, as well. Things went from bad to worse when Annie died from an accidental drowning on her eighteenth birthday and neither Wil nor Ryan were invited to the funeral. Now Wil is alone and regretting everything that led to the demise of their trio.

But things start to take a turn when Wil gets the chance to see Annie again and figure out what went wrong between them. Their small town of Lennon, California is a special place. Mysteriously, every ten years one deceased Lennon citizen is allowed to come back to the world of the living for thirty days. Wil enters the town’s “Welcome Back” contest and when she wins, she of course brings Annie back. Right away, it’s clear Wil will be competing with Annie’s parents (who aren’t the biggest fans of Wilson) for Annie’s time, and she agonizes over the perfect way to spend her precious moments with Annie. Her list of activities like “go to the zoo” and “have a movie night” doesn’t feel right at all. Then, she makes a shocking discovery–it might be possible for Annie to stay alive permanently. Now she knows how she needs to spend the next month and begins to devise a plan for how she can get Annie to stay. But Wil’s mom is getting remarried in a few weeks, and she’s in charge of planning the wedding. She realizes she’ll need help, and this is where Ryan comes in. Even though the two still work together at the local diner, they haven’t had a real conversation in forever. Wil must find a way to get Ryan on board and save Annie before it’s too late.

This is such a unique story because it perfectly blends the speculative and romance genres. I am so excited about the way genre crossovers are trending right now, and this novel did not disappoint! In addition to the dynamic friendship and friend breakup between Wil, Ryan, and Annie, the complicated romance between Ryan and Annie adds even more texture and emotion to this already jam-packed plot. The mysterious, magical element of Lennon’s special connection to the afterlife adds an additional layer of intrigue that kept me turning the pages. Finally, the evolution of Wil’s relationship with her family is wonderful to see and is something many readers will relate to. Fans of Dahlia Adler, Sophie Gonzales, and Dustin Thao will not want to miss this one!

Happy Reading!
<3 Michelle

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