And Then We Screamed

Everything seems perfect in the small town of Maple Lakes, until the cheerleaders start screaming. When Abigail, the most popular girl in school, begins shrieking in the middle of an exam, people laugh. But as more girls break into uncontrollable screaming fits, it is clear something is seriously wrong. The authorities do not have a clue what is happening, so it is up to quirky Clover and her crush Brody, the school newspaper’s ambitious editor, to investigate the darkness beneath the perfect veneer of Maple Lakes, which is spreading fast. I have always been a fan of the relatable contemporary stories with a feminist angle that Bourne is largely known for, but I was totally gripped by this novel, which marks a definite change in tone while retaining the elements of her writing that her fans love. Infusing elements of the body horror and thriller genres into her characteristically razor-sharp depiction of teenage relationships, she creates not only a powerful portrayal of the experiences many teenage girls face, but a compelling page-turner too. This is a book that deserves to be screamed about.