In this impossible-to-put-down "panic attack of a novel,"* a small-town high sch
ool becomes the breeding ground for a mysterious illness.
Deenie Nash is a dil
igent student with a close-knit family; her brother Eli is a hockey star and her
father is a popular teacher. But when Deenie's best friend is struck by a terri
fying, unexplained seizure in class, the Nashes' seeming stability dissolves int
o chaos. As rumors of a hazardous outbreak spread through school, and hysteria a
nd contagion swell, a series of tightly held secrets emerges, threatening to unr
avel friendships, families, and the town's fragile sense of security.