BLUE RIDGE CALLING

College dropout Sam became obsessed with supernatural lore following the death of their mother. Sage, who’s grounded in science and reason, has little patience for ghost stories. Their childhood friend Kora, who mourns the family’s loss as if it were her own, joins Sage’s search without hesitation. Alongside them are Kora’s new maybe-girlfriend, Hunter; Kora’s ex-boyfriend, Connor; and Noah, the young library employee who helped Sam with his research and quietly harbors feelings for him. As the group ventures deeper into the woods, their search for Sam brings some of their own struggles with grief to the surface. Sage, who used to find solace in swimming, turned to drinking and quit the swim team. She also lives with ADHD, a detail that’s woven into her character without defining her. Kora’s childhood home is up for sale, and she’s soon heading to art school in New York on her own. The characters are funny and supportive of one another, and the novel offers a thoughtful examination of grief’s ability to isolate people and shape their identities. While the Appalachian folklore largely remains in the background, the setting is lovingly described. Sage and Sam are cued Latine and white; Sage is white-passing, unlike her brother. Hunter is Cherokee, Noah presents Black, and Kora and Connor read white.