Exposure

The adult debut from Dellaira, author of two previous YA novels, including In Search of Us (2018), opens with Noah, a Black high-school senior, and Juliette, a white college freshman, meeting at the Art Institute of Chicago. Having both lost a parent, they are drawn to one another by their vulnerability and fragility. However, this encounter has catastrophic repercussions that span over a decade and affect them in profound ways. Juliette's best friend and Noah's lover also become deeply embroiled in the circumstances. Dellaira's first foray into adult fiction is closely adjacent to YA literature and aims to cover a lot of the issues facing young people in contemporary society, so it suffers a dearth of focus in its expansiveness. The narrative, however, is carefully and creatively crafted and will captivate readers. While characters occasionally lack consistency, they still present an authentic portrait of young people facing life-changing events. Overall, Dellaira's penetrating exploration of loss, race, artistic ambition, and truth and the complex views shared by various perspectives make for a promising adult debut.

Dellaira (In Search of Us) explores gender and racial power dynamics in her gripping debut. The narrative begins in 2004, when Black Chicago high schooler Noah King gets drunk with his creative writing instructor, a white college student named Juliette Marker, and goes home with her. Dellaira cuts the scene there, and a flash-forward reveals that, unbeknownst to Noah, Juliette will die two days later. The circumstances of Juliette's death remain a mystery until the third act, when they're uncovered in 2016 by Juliette's best friend and lover Annie, who's still racked with guilt over avoiding Juliette's calls the day she died. A third plot thread tracks Noah's departure from Chicago to Hollywood, where he starts a family with his novelist wife, Jesse. Now, he's poised to break out as a screenwriter and director with the release of his much-anticipated debut film, which is based on his struggles after losing his mother at seven. Dellaira's explorations of grief are complicated and wrenching, and she digs into multiple viewpoints to explore the complex issues that emerge once Juliette's version of events with Noah comes to light. Readers of Celeste Ng should take note. Agent: Richard Florest, Rob Weisbach Creative. (Sept.)