“Haunts and dazzles . . . Immersive, atmospheric, and wise, this is a spellbinding exploration of identity, belonging, and the treacherous journey through adolescence. Needle Lake cements Justine Champine as a brilliant and original voice.”—Chelsea Bieker, author of Madwoman
“Filled with stomach-twisting turns and spot-on evocations of autistic adolescence, Needle Lake impressively blends thriller and own-voices narrative. Justine Champine truly understands the wonder, beauty, and horror of neurodivergent girlhood.”—Devon Price, PhD, author of Unmasking Autism
“Suspenseful, immersive, and intoxicating . . . I couldn’t turn the pages of Needle Lake fast enough. Champine has created a truly unforgettable character in Ida and captured the quiet terror of otherness. With a compelling voice and an incredible eye for detail, Champine finds language for an experience that often transcends language itself. I’ll be thinking about Ida and this book for a long time.”—Marisa Crane, author of A Sharp Endless Need
“Haunting and gorgeously wrought, with characters so alive and real they leap off the page and prose so exacting it took my breath away . . . Justine Champine has once again proven herself to be a master of small-town American psychological drama.”—Gabrielle Korn, author of Yours for the Taking
“Needle Lake is girlhood at its most chillingly relatable. Adolescent cousins become young adults with a secret that reveals more than they bargained for about humanity—especially, and including, their own. Beautiful and deliberate prose pulses like an invigorating nightmare. . . . For fans of Brutes, Nightbitch, and Boy Parts.”—Marissa Higgins, author of A Good Happy Girl
“The heart of this coming-of-age novel beats in Champine’s careful and thorough depiction of a girl on the spectrum who also has great, yet misunderstood, academic gifts. . . . Ida finds her way forward, sharing a happy, stable future that doesn’t always occur for people on the spectrum. A standout; authentic voice and gritty detail give this novel power.”—Kirkus Reviews