A Season of Clocks, Book 1: The Many Perfect Midnights of Meredith Hill by Philip Ejike

Fifteen-year-old CORDELIA PAREDES’s best friend Persie has gone missing.  If that isn’t bad enough, all of the adults in her hometown of Blackgale, Pennsylvania – from her teachers, to the local officials, to Persie’s own parents – seem oddly unconcerned. Cordelia must therefore take it upon herself to find Persie, digging deep not only into Blackgale’s mysteries, but into the personal stories of the little town’s most mysterious residents.

Category: Fantasy – Coming of Age

Persie Van Houten reigns as Shadowkeeper of Blackgale Forest; all beings and beasts within are subject to her whim. For an entire year, she lords over the ancient trees, punishing any and all who challenge her authority. Her best friend, Cordelia Paredes, who had, a year previous, risked her life to ensure Persie’s safety, has decided to hang up her adventuring boots.

Unfortunately for her, her leisurely routine is suddenly and violently interrupted when an earth-shattering event reduces Blackgale Forest to a war zone. Cordelia cannot, of course, sit idly by while Persie’s life becomes fraught with danger. Once again, she finds herself dashing to the rescue, but her gung-ho attitude is soon tempered when she discovers that the source of Persie’s woes is capable of an evil far greater than anything she could have ever imagined….