Bianca Torre Is Afraid of Everything

Murder most fowl? In this sardonic and campy YA thriller, an anxious, introverted nonbinary teen birder somehow finds themself investigating a murder with their neighbor/fellow anime lover, all while falling for a cute girl from their birding group...and trying not to get killed next.

Sixteen-year-old Bianca Torre is an avid birder undergoing a gender identity crisis and grappling with an ever-growing list of fears. Some, like Fear #6: Initiating Conversation, keep them constrained, forcing them to watch birds from the telescope in their bedroom. And, occasionally, their neighbors. When their gaze wanders to one particular window across the street, Bianca witnesses a creepy plague-masked murderer take their neighbor's life. Worse, the death is ruled a suicide, forcing Bianca to make a choice-succumb to their long list of fears (including #3 Murder and #55 Breaking into a Dead Guy's Apartment), or investigate what happened.

Bianca enlists the help of their friend Anderson Coleman, but the two have more knowledge of anime than true crime. As Bianca and Anderson dig deeper into the murder with a little help from Bianca's crush and fellow birding aficionado, Elaine Yee (#13 Beautiful People, #11 Parents Discovering They're a Raging Lesbian), the trio uncover a conspiracy much larger-and weirder-than imagined. And when the killer catches wind of the investigation, suddenly Bianca's #1 fear of public speaking doesn't sound so bad compared to the threat of being silenced for good.

In this absurdist, darkly comical YA thriller that is a deceptively deep exploration of anxiety and identity, perhaps the real murder investigation is the friends we make along the way.

• Anxiety Representation: Step into the shoes of a teen grappling with a literal list of fears-from #6 Initiating Conversation to #3 Murder-in a mystery that's both hilarious and heart-wrenchingly relatable.
• Unlikely Detective Duo: Bianca and their neighbor Anderson know more about anime than true crime, but they're the only ones who can prove the murder they witnessed wasn't a suicide.
• Slow Burn Sapphic Romance: Navigating a crush on Elaine, a cute girl from birding group, is almost as terrifying as facing down a plague-masked killer.
• YA Mystery with a Comedic Twist: A darkly comical and sardonic thriller that perfectly blends amateur sleuthing with laugh-out-loud observations about life, fear, and identity.