Choker

What are best friends for? Murder, maybe. Zoe and Cara were as close as friends could be--until Zoe moved away in fourth grade. Miserable without Zoe, Cara grew into an unhappy sixteen-year-old, tormented by the popular girls and nursing a hopeless crush. Then one day Cara returns home from a miserable day at school to find Zoe sitting on her bed. Shocked and delighted, Cara agrees to hide Zoe from troubles at home and the two resume their friendship as though no time has passed. Zoe even helps Cara get up the courage to stand up for herself and talk to her crush. But when one of the popular girls winds up dead, Cara begins to suspect that Zoe is responsible, and her questions only feed Zoe's anger. As Cara searches for answers, she is forced to confront a deadly truth....

What if the only friend you could trust turned out to be dangerous? A new thriller from debut author Elizabeth Woods!

Publishers Weekly

Life has not been easy for 16-year-old Cara, who's all but ignored at school and at home, with attorney parents who are almost always at work. After popular girls Alexis and Sydney begin to taunt her with the nickname Choker following an incident in the cafeteria, Cara is at her breaking point when her childhood friend Zoe shows up out of nowhere, saying she ran away from her abusive stepfather and begging to hide in Cara's room. At first it is comforting to have Zoe around, but it soon becomes a chore to cater to her unpredictable moods and jealous behavior. The speed with which the book's events take a turn for the worse and then for the better--within a week, Cara almost chokes to death, Zoe shows up after a seven-year absence, one mean girl dies, another disappears, and Cara's social life improves drastically--may clue some readers in that something is up; a twist ending redeems debut author Woods's psychological thriller somewhat. But an overall lack of plausibility robs the story of much of its tension. Ages 14 up. (Jan.)

Sixteen-year-old Cara Lange has been a loner ever since she moved away from her best and only friend, Zoe, years ago. She eats lunch with the other girls from the track team, but they're not really her friends. Mostly she spends her time watching Ethan Gray from a distance, wishing he would finally notice her, and avoiding the popular girls who call her "Choker" after a humiliating incident in the cafeteria. Then one day Cara comes home to find Zoe waiting for her. Zoe's on the run from problems at home, and Cara agrees to help her hide. With her best friend back, Cara's life changes overnight. Zoe gives her a new look and new confidence, and next thing she knows, she's getting invited to parties and flirting with Ethan. Best of all, she has her BFF there to confide in. But just as quickly as Cara's life came together, it starts to unravel. A girl goes missing in her town, and everyone is a suspectincluding Ethan. Worse still, Zoe starts behaving strangely, and Cara begins to wonder what exactly her friend does all day when she's at school. You're supposed to trust your best friend no matter what, but what if she turns into a total stranger? Teenaged Cara, solitary and bullied in high school, is delighted to reconnect with her childhood best friend Zoe whose support and friendship help Cara gain self-confidence, even as her classmates start dying