Breadcrumbs, Anne Ursu
Fantasy
First line: It snowed right before Jack stopped talking to Hazel, fluffy white flakes big enough to show their crystal architecture, like perfect geometric poems.
Booktalk: Hazel and Jack have always been best friends. From the age of six on, they’ve braved the freezing Minneapolis winters together, inspired by their heroes: Harry Potter and Superman, Meg Murry from A Wrinkle in Time and Lyra from The Golden Compass. Now that they’re older, though, it’s harder to stay friends. Both of them have disasters waiting for them at home – Jack’s mom has become sad and distant, Hazel’s dad walked out – and at school their classmates tease them constantly.
And then one day, something totally expected and entirely terrible happens: Jack stops talking to Hazel. Hazel’s mom tells her that this happens, it’ll be OK, she’ll make new friends – but Hazel knows that something is really, really wrong. And to bring Jack back, she will have to go on the adventure of a lifetime, following a trail through a dark, cold forest full of magic, danger, and discovery.
Similar titles: There are lots of other great fairy tale retellings (A Tale Dark and Grimm or Far, Far Away). You could also read some of the books Breadcrumbs mentions, like A Wrinkle in Time or The Golden Compass (two of my favorites).