A Quill & Quire Best Book of the Year!
WINNER of the 2023 Crime Writers of Canada Juvenile/YA Fiction Award
Finalist for the 2023 Dartmouth Book Award for Fiction
Finalist for the 2023 Ann Connor Brimer Award for Atlantic Canadian Children’s Literature
A Best Books For Kids and Teens Pick (Canadian Children’s Book Centre Spring 2023)
The back-to-school blowout filled with drinks and drugs isn’t Frankie’s scene, but she would do anything for her childhood best friend Jessa, whose recent ugly duckling transformation has her hanging with a new crowd and vying for pretty boy Malcolm—the popular senior throwing the all-out rager on his father’s deserted development property.
Martin hasn’t heard from his old friends since his father lost everything, moved them across town, and tried to bow out with a bottle of whiskey and a fistful of pills. Until the party invitation. Between working double-shifts and avoiding his father’s sad-guilty routine, Martin decides to blow off some steam. But the party house is a monument to the bad real estate deal that left half the town in financial ruin—and the heart of all that has gone wrong for him and his family.
Cara and her crew of lost girls have been squatting in a model home on the property, stealing for their survival. The party is the perfect mark—privileged kids, abundant alcohol, and dark corners. The girls score big with their haul, but the celebration is short-lived when they learn their temporary home is at risk of discovery. They could be split up and forced back onto the unsafe streets.
In the wake of a brutal brawl, the guests find a lifeless body- and this murder is only the first. Escalating violence drives Frankie, Martin, and Cara to forge new bonds, and together unmask a killer.
Narrated from multiple perspectives, Jo Treggiari’s latest is about what compels us to kill—and the true face of justice—for fans of Karen McManus and Courtney Summers.
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Releasing in the US September 12 2023!!!!
Want to know more about the book and my writing process?? Check out this awesome podcast interview I did with Lindsay Gloade-Raining Bird for the Book Me! Podcast. Listen here
PRAISE
“HEARTBREAK HOMES, the latest from GG nominee Jo Treggiari, manages to be many things at once: a thrilling, twisty mystery that I couldn’t put down, a high school ensemble featuring a large and compelling cast of characters, and an incisive but sensitive piece of social commentary. In Treggiari’s deft hands, this skillfully crafted multi-voice thriller keeps readers guessing, while providing nuanced insights into the emotions and backstories of her complex main characters. An absolute must read from one of the best writers of teen thrillers working today!” -Tom Ryan, award-winning author of Keep This To Yourself
“Polished prose, a trio of finely crafted narrators, and the best sort
of finale: one that sits in the rich spaces between black and white,
tailor-made for meaty discussion and passionate opinion. Heartbreak
Homes confirms Jo Treggiari’s place in the top tier of YA mystery
writers.”
–Darren Groth, author of Boy in the Blue Hammock and
Munro vs. the Coyote
“A complex and twisting story featuring an engaging cast of misfits and a thrilling reveal. Riveting!”–Vicki Grant, bestselling author of 36 Questions That Changed My Mind About You
Trade Reviews
‘The use of three distinct narrative voices is critical to the success of the novel. With independent but interweaving storylines and amateur investigations, evidence is allowed to accrue naturally and realistically, gradually building to a grand – and genuinely surprising – final revelation.
Heartbreak Homes works not only as a first-class mystery but also as a deft examination of class differences in a small town, and the impact of adult decisions (and losses) on younger members of a family. Reminiscent of the first season of Veronica Mars, the novel will appeal to YA readers and any lover of a good mystery, regardless of age.’ –Quill & Quire, STARRED review
‘A thoughtful, character-driven puzzle...focusing on the three protagonists and their rich, complex life stories that eventually converge as they get closer and closer to the murderer. The story also features a sympathetic take on different kinds of families and addresses topics such as justice and accountability.’- Kirkus
Quill & Quire 2022 Fall Pick
CBC’s 22 Canadian YA Books to Watch For
CBC Book’s 13 Canadian Books for Kids and Young Adults to Read for Halloween
49th Shelf Compelling Thrillers The only YA on the list!!
49th Shelf Kids/ Top Grade Can Lit for the Classroom Young Adult Books, Winter 2023 Pick ( at minute 2:32)
“A wild and raging back-to-school bash hosted by popular jock Mal Bradley becomes the scene of a murder in this complex and cleverly-plotted murder mystery. Told from the perspectives of three teens who each attended the party for very different reasons, their respective stories gradually unfold as they become caught up in the quest to find the killer. Tense and compelling, the shifting narrators are well-developed and multi-faceted characters whose relationships and motivations are realistically depicted, and the secondary characters are equally dynamic and relatable. Treggiari has created a satisfying mystery that also reminds readers to remember that there is always so much more to each person’s story than what we see on the surface.”– The Canadian Children’s Book Center Experts’ Pick
“Treggiari does a brilliant job writing characters who are doing their best to investigate a mystery, but who are also still teenagers. Treggiari also writes with great detail, the pages rich with descriptions characteristic of teens. Each chapter is told from a different perspective and ends with a nerve-wracking cliffhanger, allowing the reader to watch the mystery unfold…Heartbreak Homes is an excellent pick for those who love a good adrenaline rush, a spooky murder-mystery, and well-formed characters.”- Young Adulting
“…I can see this novel starting powerful conversations in a classroom or in a staff room or on a street corner. Literature that is unafraid of the hard truths, that tells the story with authenticity, is literature that we need. I highly recommend this book, not just for youth, but for anyone who believes in the young, in all their challenges, in all their hope. For with characters like Cara, Frankie, and Martin, we are moved to hope.” –The Miramichi Reader
“…a tense , riveting murder mystery that provides thought-provoking glimpses into the lives and hearts of many of its primary and secondary characters. The three alternating narrators are well-rounded, sympathetic individuals who are believably flawed and achingly real…carefully constructed with enough clues to keep readers fully absorbed in the mystery while also becoming deeply invested in the life stories of each character.” Atlantic Books Today
“Each viewpoint gives insight into that night and adds to the fear and suspense that builds up to the killer’s unmasking. …a complex story with twists and turns which keeps the reader wanting more…just when you think that you’ve figured it out, another twist is around the corner.” CCBC Canadian Children’s Booknews Winter 2022/23
“Having read about a bajillion books, I think we can all agree that most of them can only deliver an innovative/unique story OR beautifully crafted prose. Very rarely can they do both. BUT THIS ONE IS THE UNICORN. The way Treggiari wove multiple character viewpoints was flawlessly magical, without it ever relaxing into the overused, procedural mold that we have seen before. It would make an absolutely fantastic teen television mini series. And I would be invested as an adult.” BooksnBrambles Book Blog
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Signed copies from: Block Shop Books
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