Seventeen-year-old Hazel Perez, who’s Puerto Rican and Polish American, is trying to keep her head down and blend in, which is easy until her former best friend, Becca Mercer, invites her to be part of their U.S. history class’s group project about a local historical landmark. White-presenting Becca’s family owns the land where Oakwell Farms, a school for “delinquent girls”—established in the 19th century and closed only in recent decades—was located. After a prank goes wrong, and Hazel suffers a serious fall, strange things begin happening: She experiences hallucinations and violent urges. Determined to get to the bottom of everything, she starts digging into The Farm’s history, only to uncover dark secrets going back decades. Wallach explores the gritty, abhorrent reality of the “troubled teen” industry, using The Farm as a stand-in for a number of actual reform schools with disturbing legacies and intensifying the horrific nature of the story. Rooted more in plot and atmosphere than deep characterization, this novel will leave readers wondering what the teens who lived through these nightmares would say if they could tell their stories. The compelling storytelling will keep fans of reality-based horror turning the pages.
