Sync

by Ellen Hopkins Narrated by Not Yet Available

Overview

From #1 NYT bestselling author Ellen Hopkins comes a new heartbreaking young adult novel in verse about twins separated in the foster care system and the different paths their lives take.

Seventeen-year-old twins Storm and Lake have always been in perfect sync. They faced the worst a parent could do and survived it together. In the wake of their mother's rejection, they've spent the last five years moving from foster home to foster home-sometimes placed together, sometimes apart.

After being separated from his sister once again, Storm is devastated. He's the older brother and promised to always take care of Lake. But after a stint in juvie, his newest placement has him feeling almost hopeful. His foster dad is kind, and his girlfriend, Jaidyn, is the first person other than Lake he feels he can trust. But when Jaidyn is sexually assaulted by a violent ex, it pushes Storm over the edge. He retaliates and lands back in lockup-and he fears this time it will be for good. He wishes he could talk to Lake, but he doesn't know where she is, and he' s now feeling more alone and out of sync than ever before.

Lake, like Storm, has found her own happiness in a relationship with someone new-her fellow foster, Parker. Life with Parker is never boring, but Parker has her own scars. She can be withdrawn and unpredictable, and that can be dangerous, especially after Parker convinces Lake to run away from their Bible-thumping fosters after they are caught in a compromising position. With no money, shelter, or ID, they're living on the streets. Lake thinks of Storm and his promise to take care of her, and wonders where he could be now.

Told in dual perspectives through unsent letters, at turns heartbreaking and always honest, this latest novel in verse from #1 New York Times bestselling author Ellen Hopkins is a searing and unforgettable account of two teens caught in the teeth of the foster care system, fighting their way out and back to each other.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

05/20/2024

Hopkins (People Kill People) employs her signature grit and compelling verse to deliver a wrenching interpretation of the foster care system. Seventeen-year-old twins Lake and Storm endured a childhood of abuse and neglect before being admitted into the California foster care system and separated from each other. Following a brief period in juvenile detention, Storm finds stability with his single foster parent as well as his girlfriend Jailyn, “who lifts the storm/ clouds and lets her light in.” Meanwhile, Lake is staying with a deeply religious foster family and her fellow foster Parker, with whom she begins a secret romantic relationship. After reuniting for an afternoon, Lake and Storm are ripped apart again when their worlds simultaneously implode—Storm injures a classmate who assaulted Jailyn, and Lake’s foster parents discover that she’s queer. Told through letters and mental musings to each other, this haunting read weaves together instances of trauma, violence, homelessness, incarceration, and sexual assault that the siblings experience during their childhood and adolescence as they try to make their way back to each other; glimmers of kindness and love sometimes provide bright spots to their bleak reality. Characters read as white. Ages 14–up. (Aug.)

From the Publisher

"A gritty, powerful novel in verse...poignant, unflinching...the narrative doesn’t shy away from portraying the harsh realities of a broken foster care system. A wrenching and necessary read." —Kirkus Reviews

Product Details

BN ID:	2940160501420
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	08/27/2024
Edition description:	Unabridged
Sales rank:	954,004