The Girl in the Cave

The terrifying mystery of a lost girl and her mother’s ghost haunts Alma and her friends at horseback riding camp.

One night, Alma discovers a date carved into the side of her bunk bed. Lexi, the camp owner’s daughter, shares the chilling story of the family who lived on the farm before hers: the mysterious disappearance and death of a young girl, and the tragic unraveling of the girl’s mother as she searched desperately for the child she loved. The date carved into Alma’s bunk? It was the dead girl’s birthday.

It is also Alma’s birthday.

Alma and her best friend, Adriana, are captivated by the story. Adriana, however, seems just as fascinated by Lexi’s stylish riding clothes, flawless skin, and interest in kissing boys. Alma cannot understand why Adriana suddenly wants to talk about boys more than horses. Alma would much rather think about horses, especially Blue, the sensitive and complicated horse she has been assigned to ride at camp.

When Alma finds the same date carved into a tree, fear begins to take hold. Is the ghost of the dead girl haunting her? Is the grieving mother stalking her? Or is Lexi playing a cruel game, trying to drive a wedge between Alma and Adriana?

The Girl in the Cave is a gripping middle-grade novel about friendship, betrayal, coming of age, and horses, all set in motion by a single date: 2010-09-10.