When the cops arrive, only a few things are clear:
Four girls entered a dangerous cave.
Three of them came out alive.
Two of them were rushed to the hospital.
And one is soaked in blood and ready to talk.
AMELIE DESMARAIS’ story begins believably enough: Four girls from a now-defunct thrill-seeking group planned an epic adventure to find a lake that Colorado locals call “The Sublime.” Legend has it that the lake has the power to change things for those who risk—and survive—its cavernous depths. They each had their reasons for going. For Amelie, it was a promise kept to her beloved cousin, who recently suffered a tragic accident during one of the group’s dares.
But as her account unwinds, and the girls’ personalities and motives are drawn, things get complicated. Amelie is hardly the thrill-seeking type, and it appears she’s not the only one with the ability to deceive. Worse yet, Amelie is covered in someone‘s blood, but whose exactly? And where’s the fourth girl?
Is Amelie spinning a tale to cover her guilt? Or was something inexplicable waiting for the girls down there? Amelie’s the only one with answers, and she’s insisting on an explanation that is more horror-fantasy than reality. Maybe the truth lies somewhere in between?
After all, strange things inhabit dark places. And sometimes we bring the dark with us.
- 2024 Georgia Peach Book Award nominee
- 2024 Rhode Island Teen Book Award nominee
- 2023 YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults
“This disorienting, claustrophobic, and genuinely frightening thriller follows the four girls as they descend into the darkness. With well-developed, sympathetic characters, a taut plot, and an unreliable narrator, the novel straddles the line between mystical and psychological horror to keep readers guessing to the end… A sublimely scary thriller.”
— Kirkus, starred review
“Boorman successfully spins a story that quickly disorients the reader, mirroring the characters’ experiences as they descend further into the unstable cavern, and the suggestive storytelling effectively builds upon the lore… This intriguing blend of paranormal lore and psychodrama will warrant a second read from genre-savvy readers who want to know if they missed clues or were misled down a rabbit hole.”
— Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, starred review
“Claustrophobic and slippery with surprises, this supernatural thriller takes place in one of the most overwhelmingly eerie cave systems to exist on the page… The overarching tension becomes progressively tangible with an unreliable narrator and seriously creepy descriptions.” — FANGORIA magazine
“Gripping and breathless, Into the Sublime is equal parts terrifying, claustrophobic, psychological, and cunning. What a ride! I found myself clutching the book, unable to put it down until I learned how it ended. Completely heartstopping! I’ll be haunted by this one for months.”
— Wendy Heard, author of She’s Too Pretty To Burn
“Heart-pounding action sequences keep the pages turning quickly and the vivid setting immerses readers inside the damp darkness believed to house paranormal monsters… Fans of atmospheric and psychological survival novels will race to the end of this horrific nonlinear adventure.” — School Library Journal
“A well-constructed thriller that explores guilt, identity, and authenticity.”
— Booklist