The Girl in the Well Is Me

"The Girl in the Well Is Me" plunges readers into the harrowing experience of sixth-grader Kammie Summers, who finds herself trapped in a dark well after a misguided attempt to join a popular girls' club. As time stretches on, Kammie's physical struggle for survival intertwines with a powerful internal journey, as she reflects on her life's best and worst moments, including the difficult reasons her family moved. The narrative cleverly blends realistic suspense with moments of dark humor and surreal encounters, such as a French-speaking coyote. This book is ideal for late elementary to middle school readers (ages 9-12) and offers a compelling exploration of peer pressure, identity, resilience, and the true meaning of friendship. Parents should be aware of the intense peril and themes of abandonment.

When you move somewhere new, you get to be someone new. I was ready. Sixth-grader Kammie Summers’s plan to be one of the popular girls at school hasn’t gone the way she hoped. She’s fallen into a well during a (fake) initiation into the Girls’ club. Now she’s trapped in the dark, counting the hours, hoping to be rescued. (The Girls have gone for help, haven’t they?) As the hours go by, Kammie’s real-life trouble mixes with memories of the best and worst moments of her life so far, including the awful reasons her family moved to this new town in the first place. And as she begins to feel hungry and thirsty and dizzy, Kammie discovers she does have visitors, including a French-speaking coyote and goats that just might be zombies. But they can’t get her out of the well. (Those Girls are coming back, aren’t they?) “Moving, suspenseful, and impossible to put down.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review “Darkly humorous . . . Honest and forthcoming.” —The New York Times Book Review “I dare you to pick up this riveting novel without reading straight through to its heart-stopping conclusion.” —Katherine Applegate, Newbery Medal–winning author of The One and Only Ivan