The Lost Coast

by A. R. Capetta Narrated by Sophie Amoss, Brittany Pressley

Overview

The spellbinding tale of six queer witches forging their own paths, shrouded in the mist, magic, and secrets of the ancient California redwoods.

Danny didn't know what she was looking for when she and her mother spread out a map of the United States and Danny put her finger down on Tempest, California. What she finds are the Grays: a group of friends who throw around terms like*queer*and*witch*like they're ordinary and everyday, though they feel like an earthquake to Danny. But Danny didn't just*find*the Grays. They cast a spell that calls her halfway across the country, because she has something they need: she can bring back Imogen, the most powerful of the Grays, missing since the summer night she wandered into the woods alone. But before Danny can find Imogen, she finds a dead boy with a redwood branch through his heart. Something is very wrong amid the trees and fog of the Lost Coast, and whatever it is, it can kill. Lush, eerie, and imaginative, Amy Rose Capetta's tale overflows with the perils and power of discovery - and what it means to find your home, yourself, and your way forward.

Editorial Reviews

SEPTEMBER 2019 - AudioFile

Two narrators and a shifting array of perspectives will draw listeners into this contemporary fantasy set among the mist-shrouded redwoods of coastal California. When lonely newcomer Danny arrives in Tempest, her suspicion that she’s been summoned there is soon confirmed by the Grays, a diverse coven of teen witches who believe that Danny’s hidden magical abilities will help them discover the unknown force that’s taken hold of their leader, Imogen. Sophie Amoss’s naturalistic delivery of Danny’s first-person narration highlights the character’s desperation to belong within the tight-knit coven. Brittany Pressley brings a sophisticated, wistful tone to the various third-person points of view interspersed throughout the story. Together, the two narrators create a palpable sense of yearning that permeates this tale of magic, romance, and chosen family. R.A.H. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

Publishers Weekly

04/15/2019

In this haunting contemporary fantasy set in a small town nestled among California’s redwoods, a young woman comes into her own power as a witch. After Danny relocates from Michigan, she finds that she may have responded to a summoning spell cast by a local coven, the Grays, which needs her help. Danny, who “kiss a lot of people. Mostly girls,” finds unexpected kinship with the ethnically diverse and proudly queer group, which includes “bisexual black witch” Hawthorn; nonbinary, asexual Lelia; and “Fat. Queer. White” synesthete Rush. With their aid, Danny unlocks her ability as a dowser, able to find that which is lost or missing. But as the group seeks to restore their former leader’s powers, they discover something dangerous in the mists and trees that has already claimed several victims. With lush prose, atmospheric descriptions, and nonlinear storytelling (segments intertwine present and past), Capetta (Echo After Echo) crafts an accomplished tale with a wide range of representation. Frank discussions of sexuality and identity intertwine with an almost raw emotionality as the characters wholeheartedly embrace their true selves, and an underlying current of suspense supports the overarching mixture of intrigue and interpersonal development. Ages 14–up. Agent: Sara Crowe, Pippin Properties. (May)

From the Publisher

In Capetta’s dreamy, enigmatic tale, a restless teen finds friendship, love, and self-acceptance among a coven of queer witches...the unapologetic characters, diverse in sexual and gender identities as well as diverse physically and ethnically, are the real draw. This is a slow-burning, mystical, and romantic character study about the life-affirming magic of finding a place to belong after being lost for so long.
—Booklist (starred review)

The positive, gentle depiction of Danny and Rush's physical relationship offers much-needed representation. Ideal for readers searching for queer- and female-driven contemporary fantasy.
—Kirkus Reviews

With lush prose, atmospheric descriptions, and nonlinear storytelling (segments intertwine present and past), Capetta (Echo After Echo) crafts an accomplished tale with a wide range of representation. Frank discussions of sexuality and identity intertwine with an almost raw emotionality as the characters wholeheartedly embrace their true selves, and an underlying current of suspense supports the overarching mixture of intrigue and interpersonal development.
—Publishers Weekly

A refreshingly diverse cast, and . . . a nuanced picture that traverses the fluid lines of human connection. . . . Capetta’s prose has an attractive lyricism that underlines the mystique of the dreamlike wooded setting, and fans of McLemore’s florid, sensual writing and queer romance in When the Moon Was Ours (BCCB 10/16) and Wild Beauty (BCCB 10/17) may appreciate this similarly styled offering.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Told through shifting points of view, this book wraps sinuous, sensual language around a tight, fast-paced plot to create a story that entrances readers from the beginning. Despite their magical powers, Capetta’s characters are relatable teens from their highest hopes to their deepest insecurities. A powerful book for teens who long to feel seen. Recommended for all high school and public libraries.
—School Library Journal

This atmospheric story thought- provokingly explores the powers of magic within young women and in women loving women.
—The Horn Book

This surreal and magical story is hauntingly delightful and completely absorbing. I highly recommend for fans of Stiefvater’s Raven Boys series...the book will soon wrap you up in the enchanting surreal story of the Grays. This book is mystery combined with magical realism and a lyrical narration that will absolutely captive YA readers.
—YA Books Central (blog)

The Lost Coast is devastatingly good and I can’t wait to read it again.
—Tor.com

School Library Journal - Audio

03/01/2020

Gr 7 Up—Danny has just moved from Michigan to Tempest, CA, with her mom. After going to a party, she ends up hiking through the woods where she stumbles upon the Grays, four queer teenage witches who tell her they have been waiting for her. As Danny assimilates into their tight-knit group, she uncovers her own magical powers and does everything she can to help the Grays find their lost friend, Imogen. Lyrical descriptions of the northern California coast with its ancient redwoods and rolling fog are nothing short of magical (some chapters are even written from the perspective of the trees). Many listeners will see themselves reflected in the characters, whose identities include bisexual, lesbian, gender-fluid, asexual, fat, black, and Filipino. Unfortunately, the many secondary characters are not well developed; listeners only get to know Danny, Imogen, and Danny's crush, Rush, beyond a surface level. Sophie Amoss and Brittany Pressley's narration helps distinguish among the characters, but the meandering storyline is often confusing. VERDICT Shifting points of view and flashbacks may be disorienting for some listeners; a confusing plot and flatly developed secondary characters make this an optional purchase.—April Everett, China Grove, NC

School Library Journal

06/01/2019

Gr 10 Up—Danny has trouble staying where she's supposed to be. She sleepwalks, cuts class, wanders away from home, and kisses lots of people but never feels connected to them. Finally, with Danny's grades plummeting, her mother decides they need a new start. They spread out a map and pick the town of Tempest, on the northern coast of California, as their new home. Danny's mother hopes that her daughter will turn over a new leaf, and Danny longs for a place with other queer kids where she won't feel so alone. She gets more than she bargained for when it turns out that her arrival in Tempest isn't happenstance. A group of queer teenage witches who call themselves the Grays have been waiting for Danny, and they believe she is the only one who can find their missing friend, Imogen. Danny must simultaneously learn to use her new powers, meet the expectations of her mother and her new friends, and unravel the mystery of Imogen's disappearance. She also needs to determine whether the Grays actually want her or if they're just using her to find Imogen. Told through shifting points of view, this book wraps sinuous, sensual language around a tight, fast-paced plot to create a story that entrances readers from the beginning. Despite their magical powers, Capetta's characters are relatable teens from their highest hopes to their deepest insecurities. VERDICT A powerful book for teens who long to feel seen. Recommended for all high school and public libraries.—Heather Waddell, Abbot Public Library, Marblehead, MA

SEPTEMBER 2019 - AudioFile

Two narrators and a shifting array of perspectives will draw listeners into this contemporary fantasy set among the mist-shrouded redwoods of coastal California. When lonely newcomer Danny arrives in Tempest, her suspicion that she’s been summoned there is soon confirmed by the Grays, a diverse coven of teen witches who believe that Danny’s hidden magical abilities will help them discover the unknown force that’s taken hold of their leader, Imogen. Sophie Amoss’s naturalistic delivery of Danny’s first-person narration highlights the character’s desperation to belong within the tight-knit coven. Brittany Pressley brings a sophisticated, wistful tone to the various third-person points of view interspersed throughout the story. Together, the two narrators create a palpable sense of yearning that permeates this tale of magic, romance, and chosen family. R.A.H. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

2019-03-13
A group of queer fledgling witches search for their friend in a small town among the redwoods of Northern California.

The Grays—four tightknit high school friends—cast a spell to draw someone to their town who can help find Imogen, their fifth group member, whose body is present but whose mind is elsewhere. They attract Danny, a Michigan native. The Grays introduce her to magic, and together, they use their personalized abilities to solve the mystery of Imogen's disappearance. Along the way, Danny starts to feel at home with the group and nurses a crush on one member, Rush—problematic because she has history with Imogen. The Grays' frank conversations about identity are utterly refreshing and ring true to life. "What word fits in a way that makes you happy at this very moment?" one Gray asks. Danny is queer and white; Rush is fat, queer, and white; Hawthorn is black and bisexual; June is gay and Filipina; Lelia is nonbinary, gray asexual, and white; Imogen is white and dates girls. Short chapters weave a tapestry of past and present of narration from Danny, the Grays, and others. Though arguably fitting with the narrative's murky, otherworldly atmosphere, Imogen's disappearance initially lacks context, and the book-spanning hunt to find her deserves more momentum. The positive, gentle depiction of Danny and Rush's physical relationship offers much-needed representation.

Ideal for readers searching for queer- and female-driven contemporary fantasy. (Fantasy. 14-18)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169270105
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	05/14/2019
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

Read an Excerpt

Part One

DAWN


I’m halfway up a redwood tree, wearing a dress as thin and dark as a shadow, a boy breathing hard to keep up.
   “I think I liked the idea of climbing better when we were on the ground,” he says.
   His name is Sebastian. He’s another transplant to Tempest. Besides that, what I know about him is as flimsy as the name tags they made us wear at new-student orientation. He has sprigs of dark hair. He’s a nervous dancer.
   “Don’t you want to see the sun rise?” I call down.
   It’s the same question I asked a bunch of people I barely knew, when the house party thrown by some popular senior burned out, melted wax and crisped wick. Sebastian was the only one who actually listened to what I was asking. Who said sure. Which, I realize as I haul my stomach over a branch and pull myself to my feet, is not really the same thing as yes.
   “Sure,” he says again. “Remind me why we’re doing this?”
   The easy answer comes out. “We’re Californians now! We can’t just eat more avocados and talk . . . really . . . really . . . slowly . . . and act like we fit in.” I know that I sound like I’m joking, but the truth is I feel every difference between this place and the one where I grew up. The food is better. The Mexican food is infinitely better. People smile at strangers. But there’s a difference that I don’t know how to talk about, something in the air that must have a chemical interaction with my blood. It makes me feel strange, so I want to do a strange thing to match. Like climbing a tree that touches the bottom edge of the sky. “This is a time-honored rite of passage that I just made up.”
   That answer peels back, and I can see the one underneath it. I don’t want to go home yet. Mom won’t stop asking if I hate the rental cottage, hate how temporary it feels, how it smells like burned dust and the brass beds scream when you turn over at night. I actually think the rental cottage is kind of cozy. I just didn’t want to loosen my grip on the night.
   I just needed to breathe in the woods.
   I look between my bare feet and find Sebastian’s face below me, all misery, like I’ve put him in a redwood prison and the only good part is looking up my skirt but he’s pretty sure he has to feel guilty about that.
   “I don’t care, you know,” I say.
   “That we’re both about to die falling from a tree?”
   “That you know what color my underwear is.”
   I think it’s red. I didn’t pay that much attention when I put it on, but it suddenly feels relevant.
   I grab the branch above me, my face pressing into the shaggy bark. It’s softer than I’d imagined, and the limbs of the tree are strong, fanning out in spokes. When I reach a gap, my heart goes glossy with fear. I press off with my feet, and I am touching nothing but air until my hand cuffs the next branch and a scream drops back into my lungs, unused.
   I’m not braver than Sebastian; I just want to get to the top more than he does. There is something waiting for me up there, and I won’t be able to name it until I see it.
   Now that I’ve gotten past the rough, patchy middle, the tight spin of branches near the top makes the rest easy. It’s like climbing a spiral staircase into the dawn.
   “Quick,” I say. “We’re missing it.”
   The treetops give way, leaving a jagged view. The gray sky is just black rubbed thin. A pale, secret shade of pink glows where the sky and the world touch.
   I stop where I am and sit, my back settling against the trunk. Sebastian pulls himself up and stands right in front of me, his thighs barring the sunrise. “Sit down please,” I say, and he does. Now his face is in my way, but before I can complain, the sunrise turns his hair into glory, softening each dark strand with coral and rose.
   “You know what’s weird?” I ask, my eyes catching on a break in the treetops, a pothole between us and the sunrise, right over the town we came from. “Being new feels a little bit like we don’t exist. Like somebody in Tempest has to notice that we’re here before we can really be here.”
   He looks down at his fingernails, which are nervously picking apart a small piece of the tree. “Maybe we can notice each other,” he mumbles.
   That wasn’t really my point. But he looks so hopeful that I can’t tell him the other half of my thought. It’s too unwelcome. Too Danny, and I’m going to be different here. Somebody who eats avocados and talks slowly enough that people listen.
   But not saying it doesn’t stop me from thinking it.
 We could die tonight, and it would be as easy as crumpling a name tag.
   I pull my phone from the pocket in my dress. The screen’s glare cuts against the soft burn of the sunrise.
   “You’re texting?” Sebastian asks, a whine trickling into his voice. It’s not as cute as his nervous dancing, or even his halfhearted tree climbing.
   “My mom likes to know I’m alive,” I say. I don’t owe him the rest of the story, even though it itches on my tongue.
   Sebastian nods and keeps nodding until it’s clear that he’s working himself up to something. “Do you want to hang out? Sometime?”
   I take a quick breath. He’s right — what we’re doing at the moment isn’t hanging out. Nobody climbs to the top of a tree on a date. There are rituals. Rules. Tonight doesn’t have ropes around it, so it’s outside of everything real, a fact that leaves a sour memory-taste in my mouth.
   Lip gloss, cigarettes.
   “Danny?” Sebastian asks, his confidence draining as quickly as the dark. “What do you think?”
   I don’t know how to answer. It has nothing to do with how lovely and kissable Sebastian is. Even after all the girls I’ve been with, I sometimes find myself wanting to kiss a boy, and that makes it harder for a lot of people — I won’t declare myself and stick to one side of a fence. I don’t know how to explain that I don’t even see the fence.
   Sebastian does this nervous look-away, and his long, exposed throat begs for my attention. This is when I should let my fingers drift toward his skin. When I would normally lean into the moment, touch my lips to his. Wind nudges me forward, urging me to do it. Yellow deepens to gold and pours in thick and heavy, and he’s goddamn glowing. The moment is here.
   This is where a kiss would fit.

Videos