Now she’s in a race to interpret or solve the clues to try to beat the murderer to the next victim, assisted by Reece, a new love interest who may not be someone she should trust. But what crops up instead are a bunch of weirdly worded clues that end up being the precursors to murder-all of people somehow associated with her life. Nearly’s father left them five years ago, and (a pivotal plot point) Nearly reads the personal ads daily, searching for a message from him (since he communicated with her in that way once before). Other reasons include that she lives in a run-down trailer park with a mom who makes her living as an exotic dancer, and Nearly doesn’t want to give anyone more reasons for verbal target practice at her expense. Although this sounds useful, functionally it can be overwhelming, giving her a bunch of information she doesn’t really want to know. Nearly is a girl who likes to operate below the radar for a variety of reasons, the primary one being that she has a special “gift” (or curse): If she touches someone, skin on skin, she can feel their emotions, and can usually tell whether they are lying or being truthful. Yes, that’s her name, although she makes her friends call her Leigh, because she thinks a name like Nearly makes her stick out too much.

I followed through on my intention to read more young adult books by Elle Cosimano, by checking out her duology about Nearly Boswell.

Nearly Found by Elle Cosimano