Girl Reflected in Knife

"A haunting, bold portrait of a young woman whose world has reached fever pitch, whose grief has taken on a life of its own. Unputdownable and exquisitely written, Girl Reflected in Knife is chilling yet beautiful, fantastical yet all too real, as we follow one girl through the looking glass. I will be thinking about this book for a very long time to come." --Amber Smith, New York Times bestselling author of The Way I Used to Be and The Way I Am Now

Destiny can't count on anyone but herself. Her mother has struggled with addiction for all of Destiny's life, moving them from town to town, bad boyfriend to bad boyfriend--including a particularly dark period in Texas, where Destiny ended up in a psychiatric hospital. But Destiny's mother is newly sober and stable. And Destiny is falling in love.

Destiny never believed in happily ever after, but that doesn't stop her confidence from fraying when the first guy she ever trusted casually shatters her heart. Spiraling hard, she tells a tiny, desperate lie to buy herself a moment of hope. But as the lie grows and the pressures tangle, she gets lost in her own deception, and the line between truth and fantasy starts to blur.

With time untethered and her perception in knots, Destiny must find a way to reclaim her story and weave a new ending--before its beginnings unravel.

"Be careful of the story you tell yourself. It might become the one you believe."

Author: Anica Mrose Rissi
Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers
Published: 04/07/2026
Pages: 240
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.71lbs
Size: 8.19h x 5.75w x 1.02d
ISBN: 9780593859827
Audience: Young Adult


Review Citation(s):
Shelf Awareness 01/01/0001
Publishers Weekly 01/19/2026
Booklist 02/01/2026
Kirkus Reviews 02/15/2026
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 04/01/2026
School Library Journal 02/13/2026 pg. 1

About the Author
Anica Mrose Rissi is the award-winning author of more than a dozen books for kids and teens, including picture books, chapter books, middle grade, and YA. Her essays have been published by The Writer and The New York Times, and she plays fiddle in and writes lyrics for the band Owen Lake and the Tragic Loves. Anica grew up in Maine and spent many years in New York City, where she worked as an executive editor in children's book publishing. She currently lives in central New Jersey with her very good dog, Sweet Potato.