Stone and Spark — Sibella Giorello

During the worst week of her life, Raleigh Harmon discovers her destiny.
Her best friend is a smart-mouthed genius girl named Drew Levinson. But Drew is gone. Nowhere to be found. Everybody insists Drew ran away. But Raleigh suspects something worse.

Armed with one rock hammer, an encyclopedic knowledge of city criminal codes, and a stubborn streak wide as the Chesapeake Bay, Raleigh searches for clues.

• Did Drew secretly meet somebody?
• Did her loony parents finally push her over the edge?
• Or is Raleigh's hunch dead-on: Drew didn't choose to leave….

The first book in the best-selling Raleigh Harmon prequel mystery series, Stone and Spark introduces the girl who will grow up to become a forensic geologist and FBI agent -- provided she survives her high school years.

Praise for the Raleigh Harmon mystery series

“Giorello has won the Christy Award and has received two Pulitzer Prize nominations. When you read this book, you'll see why.”
-- Booklist, Starred Review

“Read her for her wonderfully descriptive prose, her killer plots or her well-drawn characters, but read her. You'll come away enriched in deep and plentiful ways.” -- The Richmond Times-Dispatch

Fifteen-year-old Raleigh Harmon finally conquers her worst fear -- by trespassing -- and can't wait to tell her best friend, a smart-mouthed physics genius girl named Drew Levinson.  Only Drew's gone. Really gone.  Everybody says Drew ran away. But that only skyrockets Raleigh's suspicions. Drew Levinson is the least impulsive person she knows. Armed with her rock hammer, an encyclopedic knowledge of city criminal codes, and a stubborn streak wide as the Chesapeake Bay, Raleigh scours her hometown for clues. But not even the cops are on her side. 
 Was Drew meeting somebody in secret? Escaping her loony parents?  Or is Raleigh's hunch dead-on: her best friend didn't choose to leave. "Stone and Spark" is the first book in the Raleigh Harmon mystery prequel series introducing the girl who will become a forensic geologist and FBI agent -- provided she survives her high school years.