The Leaf Reader

by Emily Arsenault

Emily Arsenault (The Rose Notes) makes her YA debut with a “page-ripping whodunit” about Marnie Wells, who comes face-to-face with the occult when she discovers her ability to read tea leaves might help solve the mystery of a classmate's disappearance.

Marnie Wells knows that she creeps people out. It’s not really her fault; her brother is always in trouble, and her grandmother, who’s been their guardian since Mom took off is . . . eccentric. So no one even bats an eye when Marnie finds an old book about reading tea leaves and starts telling fortunes. The ceremony and symbols are weirdly soothing, but she knows—and hopes everyone else does too—that none of it’s real.

Then basketball star Matt Cotrell asks for a reading. He’s been getting emails from someone claiming to be his best friend, Andrea Quinley, who disappeared and is presumed dead. And while they’d always denied they were romantically involved, a cloud of suspicion now hangs over Matt. But Marnie sees a kindred spirit: someone who, like her, is damaged by association.

Suddenly, the readings seem real. And, despite the fact that they’re telling Marnie things about Matt that make him seem increasingly dangerous, she can’t shake her initial attraction to him. In fact, it’s getting stronger. And that could turn out to be deadly.

• ISBN10: 1616957824
• ISBN13: 9781616957827
• Publish Date: 13 June 2017
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Out of Print: 24 June 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Soho Press Inc
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 240
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9781616957827

Reviews

[Stephanie]

This book was enjoyable, even though I started to figure out the mystery right before the reveal, but it didn't matter because I still felt the emotional punch of it. There just felt like something missing overall from the book, which is why there is three stars instead of four. But I liked Marnie, and her brother, and I wanted more of Carson and Cecilia.

That's all.