cover image Predatory Natures

Predatory Natures

Amy Goldsmith . Delacorte, $19.99 hardcover (432p) ISBN 978-0-593-81431-4

After failing her exams, London-raised Lara Williams spends her unexpected gap year working on the Banebury, an Estonia-bound luxury train. Thrilled to leave behind her alcohol-dependent father and her manipulative ex-boyfriend in Wales, Lara hopes to reinvent herself and “be born anew.” But when estranged bestie (and unrequited crush) Rhys joins the Banebury staff, Lara’s past proves impossible to outrun—and the train, laden with mysterious cargo and equally eerie passengers, totes its own sinister secrets. Sibling passengers Gwen and Gwydion claim to be researching accelerated plant growth, but Lara’s suspicions about the strange flowers they’ve brought aboard are soon confirmed in a turn of events that, unsettlingly, hints at the plants’ connection to Lara. Can a teen determined to flee her own past uproot the truth about the sentient flora in time to save her future and confess her feelings to Rhys? As Lara discovers parallels between the Banebury’s monstrous freight and her real-life adversaries, Goldsmith (Our Wicked Histories) deftly braids folklore, supernatural horror, and romantic suspense into a layered novel that confronts emotional abuse. Lara is white-cued; supporting characters are intersectionally diverse. Ages 14–up. Agent: Claire Friedman, InkWell Management. (July)