by Tom Perrotta
First published 2026
Jimmy Perrini finishes eighth grade in suburban New Jersey when tragedy upends his world. The loss leaves him adrift from his family and friends, wrapped in grief that seems impossible to shake. He gravitates toward two unlikely companions: a local burnout who drives fast and smokes constantly while losing his grip on reality, and an intelligent, quirky girl who owns a Ouija board. Jimmy feels drawn to this girl as they both seek comfort through the supernatural, hoping the board might ease their shared pain. Meanwhile, a public crisis develops in their community, forcing Jimmy to choose between the mystical escape he craves and the harsh truths of his hometown. An older Jimmy tells this story years later, now a novelist who shifted from literary to commercial fiction. He reflects on how those pivotal summer months shaped him, examining the way grief and memory follow us long after we believe we have moved on.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, grief, coming-of-age, supernatural, contemporary
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: New Jersey, Suburban
Period: 20th-century
288 pages · Hardcover · Scribner
Content warnings: mental-illness