Better the Devil

Gr 8 Up–A chilling domestic thriller about a teen who gets embroiled in a missing persons case via highly unusual circumstances. The teen is queer and runs away from his religious family to avoid being sent to a conversion therapy camp. He ends up on the streets and gets caught shoplifting by the police. At the police station, he notices a picture of a missing kid that looks almost exactly like him and, in a panic, claims to be that kid. Suddenly, he finds himself thrust into the life of Nate Beaumont, a boy who has been missing for nearly a decade, with his loving mother, his skeptical but supportive father, and his high-achieving older brother. The Beaumont family is the opposite of his: loving, accepting, and kind. He comes to enjoy playing the role of Nate, but bad things keep happening around the house: gas leaks, burned flowers, spilled paint. When Nate’s secret is discovered by the next-door neighbor, he promises his silence in exchange for Nate’s help investigating what happened to the real missing child. This novel blends intrigue and suspense with a surprisingly tender queer coming-of-age story about searching for belonging and acceptance. Readers will become invested in the fate of the Beaumont family and may see themselves in Nate, who just wants to find a place where he feels safe. It all leads to a high-octane ending after chapters of tension. Main characters are cued white.