A Psalm for Lost Girls, Katie Bayerl
A Psalm for Lost Girls, Katie Bayerl
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A Psalm for Lost Girls

Author: Katie Bayerl

Narrator: Saskia Maarleveld, Kyla Garcia, Julia Whelan

Unabridged: 10 hr 27 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 03/14/2017


Synopsis

I’ll Give You the Sun meets True Detective in this brilliant YA debut about saints, sisters, and learning to let go.

Tess da Costa is a saint—a hand-to-god, miracle-producing saint. At least that’s what the people in her hometown of New Avon, Massachusetts, seem to believe. And when Tess suddenly and tragically passes away, her small city begins feverishly petitioning the Pope to make Tess’s sainthood official. Tess’s mother is ecstatic over the fervor, while her sister Callie, the one who knew Tess best, is disgusted—overcome with the feeling that her sister is being stolen from her all over again.
 
The fervor for Tess’s sainthood only grows when Ana Langone, a local girl who’s been missing for six months, is found alive at the foot of one of Tess’s shrines. It’s the final straw for Callie. With the help of Tess’s secret boyfriend Danny, Callie’s determined to prove that Tess was something far more important than a saint; she was her sister, her best friend and a girl in love with a boy. But Callie’s investigation uncovers much more than she bargained for—a hidden diary, old family secrets, and even the disturbing truth behind Ana’s kidnapping. Told in alternating perspectives, A Psalm for Lost Girls is at once funny, creepy and soulful—an impressive debut from a rising literary star.

Narrator List:
Callie, read by Saskia Maarleveld 
Tess's Journal Entries, read by Kyla Garcia
General narration by Julia Whelan

About The Author

When Katie Bayerl isn’t penning stories, she coaches teens and nonprofits to tell theirs. She holds an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts and has taught creative writing in schools and a variety of community settings. Katie has an incurable obsession with saints, bittersweet ballads, and murder. A Psalm for Lost Girls is her first novel.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Carlie

I'm really cautious when anyone says "the writing's like Jandy Nelson's," because what could ever live up to that? Um, this book. Absolutely this book. A Psalm for Lost Girls is at once literary and supremely accessible. This novel is so many things: the story of a desperate small town, of sisters,......more

Goodreads review by Elle

2.5 stars. This is perhaps one of the most disappointing books I read in 2017. Psalm For Lost Girls starts out as a decent suspense novel with an especially nice writing style, but it falls apart quickly in the second half. Psalm For Lost Girls has a fantastic premise. Protagonist Katie tries to cop......more

Goodreads review by Rosalyn

Katie Bayerl's debut, A PSALM FOR LOST GIRLS, is incredibly lovely--a psalm to friendship and sisterhood and loss and the inexplicable things that make up our faith. I've always loved George Eliot's Middlemarch, and I'm fascinated by her premise: how a woman with the ardency and spiritual fire of St......more

Goodreads review by Julie

I got to blurb this book, and here's what I wrote: A mystery, a thriller, and a prayer, gripping and anguished, told in the poignant weaving of voices from beyond and voices left behind. – Julie Berry, Printz Honor author of The Passion of Dolssa This debut novel is fantastic, doing all things well: s......more


Quotes

Praise for A Psalm for Lost Girls:
A Barnes & Noble Most Anticipated YA Debut of 2017
A Bustle Most Anticipated Young Adult Debut of 2017
A Spring 2017 Amazon Pick – Spring’s Best Young Adult Fiction

★ “[A] gripping story of loss and grace. . . . Richly and evocatively written, Bayerl’s story is ideal for fans of Jandy Nelson and Melina Marchetta.”—Publishers Weeklystarred review 

★ “Fans of realistic fiction, mystery, or crime thrillers will find themselves at home in this spectacular debut. . . . A compelling must-have for YA collections.”—School Library Journal, starred review

“Now and then comes a book that is able to put it all together: real and compelling characters, page-turning suspense, brilliant writing. This is one of those books.”—Francisco X. Stork, award-winning author of Marcelo in the Real World and The Last Summer of the Death Warriors

“[P]acked with vivid cultural scenery, this ambitious debut offers readers a journey worth taking.”—Kirkus Reviews 
 
“Many issues are presented in Bayerl’s novel—mental illness, modern sainthood, sisterly love, family dynamics, romance—giving it wide appeal among readers.”—VOYA

Ideal for fans of both mysteries and character-driven novels.”—Booklist 

Lyrical and nuanced . . . Bayerl’s debut will appeal to a wide range of readers. . . . A haunting tale of family, first love, and miracles.”—RT Book Reviews 

A mystery, a thriller, and a prayer, gripping and anguished, told in the poignant weaving of voices from beyond and voices left behind.”—Julie Berry, Printz Honor author of The Passion of Dolssa