The Freak Observer is rich in family drama, theoretical physics, and an unusual, tough young woman--Loa Lindgren. For eight years, Loa Sollilja"s world ran like one of those mechanical models of the solar system, with her baby sister, Asta, as the sun. Asta suffered from a genetic disorder that left her a permanent infant, and caring for her was Loa"s life. Everything spun neatly and regularly as the whole family orbited around Asta. But now Asta"s dead, and 16-year-old Loa"s clockwork galaxy has collapsed. As Loa spins off on her own, her mind ambushes her with vivid nightmares and sadistic flashbacks¯a textbook case of PTSD. But there are no textbook fixes for Loa"s short-circuiting brain. She must find her own way to pry her world from the clutches of death. The Freak Observer is a startling debut about death, life, astrophysics, and finding beauty in chaos.