Crash into Me

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY JUL 27, 2009

In this powerful debut, Borris follows a group of teenagers, each of whom has attempted suicide. Jin-Ae (a studious lesbian), Frank (a dejected sports lover), Nirvana-obsessed Audrey and lonely narrator Owen meet in a chat room and make a pact to take a cross-country "Celebrity Suicide Road Trip," stopping at the graves of Hunter S. Thompson, Kurt Cobain and others ("We're visiting our suicide family our people," says Owen). They plan to kill themselves when they reach Death Valley. The well-developed characters have distinct reasons and histories that led to their earlier suicide attempts (a breakup, the death of a sibling). Their conversations over the weeks are tense, candid and often tempered with snarky humor: "Nothing like a four-way suicide pact to get you going in the morning," says Jin-Ae. Interspersed with chat-room flashbacks and Top 10 lists, Owen's delicate and insightful narrative voice carries the novel: "I suppose it doesn't matter what form love takes; maybe we just need to take it when it comes." It's a strikingly real account of an improvised family and the ways people change and grow. Ages 14 up.