Diva Delight: The Space Between Trees

I finally had an opportunity to read Katie Williams' The Space Between Trees on Chronicle Books' exceptional YA list. Engrossing, with such fresh metaphors, I was amazed with each page turn.

As the back of the book states, Evie finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time. A former childhood schoolmate is murdered in the nearby woods, and she witnesses the body's removal. Before she realizes it, she's caught up in her own lies to gain friendship in her isolated life. Pursuing the killer with her new friend, Evie opens herself to more and more danger, until truly damaging choices are finally made.

There's a hint of The Crucible to me, as teen girls are caught in their own stories with severe consequences. Evie herself concludes:

"The world is not set to rights. It is a small, sad, messy world, and I am a small, sad, messy girl. I didn't understand that having a story changes you. You have to have gone through something, after all, to have something to say. Now I have my story. But I can't bear to speak a word of it."

I have to say again that Katie's metaphors were startlingly original. Here is an example where Evie is thinking of how she used to tell her acquaintances false stories for reaction:

"-how I'd weigh a phrase or spit out a particular word like I couldn't hold it in my mouth any longer, how I'd say a sentence quietly to make them lean in, how I'd collect their wide eyes and sucks of breath like beads I could string on a bracelet."

Beautiful, right? You are going to love Evie's straightforward, raw observation of people's movements, expressions, and quirks. I highly recommend The Space Between Trees. Brava, Katie Williams!

The Space Between Trees
by Katie Williams
Chronicle Books, 2010