"Everyone thinks I killed Eva Flores.
Sure, I hate how everyone was over the moon about her TikTok fame. And I suppose I got a little bit carried away with vengeance when she tried to ruin my life.
But seriously, when my friend gave me that leather journal, I’d never had so much power in my life. It was intoxicating. Who wouldn’t have done what I did to Eva?
Now everyone thinks that just because she vanished in the forest after a party, that I killed her. That the blood on the jackets is proof. Or the text messages. The slightly weird thing I had with Eva's dad. The fire.
The whole thing is far more complicated than you’d think.
What happened to the horribly obnoxious, very complicated Eva Flores? I can't really say."
Perfect for fans of Karen M. McManus and Holly Jackson, Burying Eva Flores is told through a series of POV narrative, text messages and documentary interviews. It's the paranormal thriller you've been looking for!
"Everyone thinks I killed Eva Flores.
Sure, I hate how everyone was over the moon about her TikTok fame. And I suppose I got a little bit carried away with vengeance when she tried to ruin my life.
But seriously, when my friend gave me that leather journal, I’d never had so much power in my life. It was intoxicating. Who wouldn’t have done what I did to Eva?
Now everyone thinks that just because she vanished in the forest after a party, that I killed her. That the blood on the jackets is proof. Or the text messages. The slightly weird thing I had with Eva's dad. The fire.
The whole thing is far more complicated than you’d think.
What happened to the horribly obnoxious, very complicated Eva Flores? I can't really say."
Perfect for fans of Karen M. McManus and Holly Jackson, Burying Eva Flores is told through a series of POV narrative, text messages and documentary interviews. It's the paranormal thriller you've been looking for!
September 25
Sophia Palmer (senior at Paonia High School): Lemme just say, I didn’t kill Eva Flores.
Ethan Switalski (senior at Paonia High School): Soph came running to my house after the whole sheriff thing, and I knew it looked bad for her. That stupid curse. God... I just… [Exhales, looks out the window and stops talking.]
Sophia: The sheriff’s office… I… [Pause.] After everything that went down, I knew they’d think it was me. I mean, I knew it. Right? But I’m not a murderer. I’m not an arsonist.Â
Ethan: They kept her there for hours, interviewing her. Probably illegal with no lawyer and stuff. So when she came to my house, she was literally shaking.
Sophia: I was just driving by when I saw the sheriff’s car and fire truck. So I stopped on the side of the road to watch. [Bites her lip, looks at her hands.] I mean, who wouldn’t do that?
Ethan: Soph kind of, you know, stumbled through my door. Said she’d been talking to Sheriff Rawlings. For like, forever. And he was being all nice, trying to get her to confess to some gruesome crime or something. Anyways, Sophia’s all, I’m too young to go to jail.
Sophia: I just kept staring at the lodge—it was like passing by a car wreck and you can’t look away. The black grassy field, so weird, so burnt. It snaked its way up to the river. Literally scorched the pine trees, circled the lodge. I couldn’t stop looking. There were these black holes on the edges of the roof. But then I saw Dakota’s dad, and he saw me. I sank deeper into my seat.Â
Delta County Sheriff Goeffrey Rawlings: I saw her right away. She pretended not to notice, but I wanted to talk to this girl. I’d heard stories about her. Mostly from my own kid.
Ethan: I guess he knocked on her window.
Sophia: He scared the shit out of me. [Covers her mouth.] Sorry. [Takes a sip of tea from a ceramic mug.] But he did.Â
Sheriff Rawlings: I motioned for her to roll down the window.
Sophia: I kind of froze.
Sheriff Rawlings: That was it. That two-second delay in rolling down the window? I knew I needed to interview Ms. Palmer.Â
Sophia: It’s funny how some things just stay with you. That moment. [Looks to the corner of the room.] I remember the little rattle of the window when I rolled it down. And then when the smoky air came into my car... I don’t know. My brain was moving in slow motion. He said, “You’re friends with that Eva girl, now, aren’t you?” I just shrugged. I mean, I wasn’t friends with her. He asked me why I was sitting out there.Â
Ethan: It took like an hour to get her to stop shaking. She just kept on repeating I didn’t do anything. I knew that. Me and Morgan knew that. But it was like, I don’t know… Like she was trying to convince herself that she didn’t do something. Like the more she said it, the more she could control things again… That damn journal.Â
Sheriff Rawlings: After our talk that night, we found them. The journal. The Snaps. The texts. The bloody jacket. Unwinding this story all took time. As you’ll see. But I think the kids just honestly made up some crazy story.
If she indeed had some power of story, what would she write next?
It's been said that if you want to test someone's character, give them power. What would you do if the power to control your story is quite literally placed on the very palm of your hand?
This is what happens to Sophia Palmer, the main suspect in the investigations concerning the disappearance of TikTok superstar, Eva Flores. She hates the girl's guts, which is just fair since Eva did ruin her life first. Not that Sophia cares, or so she claims. But when one of her best friends gives her a leather journal that turns out to be a not-so distant cousin of the Death Note, coupled with a story writing project given by her least favorite teacher at school, she just couldn't pass up the opportunity to take her sweet revenge.
But then, wishes do also always come with consequences. And when Sophia's revenge story starts spinning out of control, she also starts losing grip on herself and her own life.
Did she or did she not kill Eva Flores?
Told in multiple points of view supported by video interviews, snippets of text and e-mail messages, voicemails, TikTok clips, and Sophia's accursed story itself, Jennifer Alsever's Burying Eva Flores puts together a mystery novel that intrigues and thrills and makes you want to turn the pages as fast as you can up to the last few pages, when it unfolds into an unexpectedly touching story of growth and selflessness that makes you want to just slow down and feel and learn and grow with the characters.
And at the very heart of it all, it also serves as a reminder not to judge people by what we see on the outside, especially on social media, because we never really know what happens behind closed doors.
A definite must read! I would recommend this book to readers who love their young adult novel with a touch of paranormal and mystery. Anyone who wants a break from their usual preferences may want to check this out, too. Jennifer Alsever really does well in capturing the many (usually unvoiced) fears, pains and secret joys of being young in today's world. ♥