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Truly Devious

Truly Devious

Reviewed by: Jennifer Lance - Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School, South Paris, Central Maine Library District

Review Date: July 10, 2018

Review

When Stevie Bell is accepted to the exclusive Ellingham Academy, she leaps at the chance to attend -over her parents' objections. For Stevie, a crime aficionado, being at Ellingham is an opportunity to learn more about the kidnapping and murder of the founder's wife and daughter, and perhaps even to solve a whodunit that has baffled law enforcement for generations. In 1935, an anonymous letter signed "Truly, Devious" precedes the disappearance of Iris and Alice. Eventually Iris turns up dead, but Alice, Albert Ellingham's beloved daughter, has never been found. Stevie finds her new life at the Academy challenging; her fellow students are both gifted and somewhat mysterious themselves. Stevie works hard to make friends while looking for clues when the unthinkable happens: a student turns up dead and once again, it looks like someone is going to get away with murder. Will Stevie be able to use her deductive skills to solve a crime that has happened right under her nose? And what about the original crime that she was hoping to break open? This is the first in a trio of Truly Devious books, and it ends in a delightful cliff-hanger. Maureen Johnson knows how to keep the reader on the edge of their seat, and her characters are relatable and interesting. This book reads a lot like an Agatha Christie, which is in and of itself a coup for Johnson. All in all, an excellent, compulsive read!

Overall Book Score: excellent

About the Book

Author:

Johnson, Maureen

Illustrator: ,

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Book Type: Choose Book Type

Genre: mystery

Audience: grades 7-9,grades 10-12

Binding Type: trade edition

Binding Quality: good

ISBN: 9780062338051

Price: 17.99

Pitch Dark

Pitch Dark

Reviewed by: Jennifer Lance - Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School, S, Central Maine Library District

Review Date: July 10, 2018

Review

Tuck Morgan is a member of the crew of the U.S.S. John Muir, and he has been for 400 years. In the process of transporting a chunk of Earth from their dying planet, the spaceship John Muir is sabotaged and the crew can only survive by going into stasis. When Tuck finally awakens, he is shocked to find that only about 150 crew members of the original 10,000 have survived. Here's where it gets really creepy: the rest of them aren't all dead. A sizeable chunk have slowly been transformed while in stasis (possibly by the chemicals from a very polluted Earth) and have become, for lack of a better term, space zombies, and they are terrifying! While Tuck is someone out of the past, Laura Cruz is very much in the present. Laura is from a family of archeologists, searching through space, trying to find shipwrecks and rescue relics from Earth's shattered past. When Laura's ship happens upon the John Muir, it seems like a boon for both crews. Oh, except Laura is being forced to act against her will by her evil ex-boyfriend and his mother, who have implanted a device in her that forces her to obey them. They want the family's rich archive of treasures and will stop at nothing to get them. How does Laura get out from under their thumb? How can Tuck survive a ship full of zombie creatures? When an onboard terrorist crashes the Cruz ship into the Muir, things get very interesting, and Tuck and Laura work together to try to save both themselves, the family, and the treasures. All the pieces fit together very well in a story full of suspense and danger!

Overall Book Score: very good

About the Book

Author:

Alameda, Courtney

Illustrator: ,

Publisher: Feiwel and Friends

Book Type: chapter book fiction

Genre: science fiction,horror

Audience: grades 10-12

Binding Type: trade edition

Binding Quality: excellent

ISBN: 9781250085894

Price: 18.99

In Search of Us

In Search of Us

Reviewed by: Jennifer Lance - Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School, S, Central Maine Library District

Review Date: July 10, 2018

Review

Angie is feeling a little lost. Although she loves her white mother very much, she has never met her African American father and yearns to connect with the other half of herself, the half that gave her brown skin and curly hair, the part that makes her want to know more about herself, the world, and everything. Marilyn, Angie's mother, comes from a past that she'd just as soon forget. Raised by a demanding mother, working from an early age as an actress/model with very little success, Marilyn just wants to be accepted for who she is. When Angie discover that her mother has not been truthful with her, she leaves New Mexico for California to try to find out more about her missing father. Juxtaposing Angie's and Marilyn's stories, Ava Dellaira sets out to tell a story about lost connections and letting go, finding and losing love. A bit formulaic, there really aren't any surprises and the side story about Angie's relationship with James seems to have been woven in so that Angie would have a ride to California. Nevertheless, a good book about mother/daughter relationships, and deals well with interracial issues.

Overall Book Score: good

About the Book

Author:

Dellaira, Ava

Illustrator: ,

Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux

Book Type: chapter book fiction

Genre: realistic fiction

Audience: grades 7-9,grades 10-12

Binding Type: trade edition

Binding Quality: very good

ISBN: 9780374305314

Price: 17.99

Devils Unto Dust

Devils Unto Dust

Reviewed by: Jennifer Lance - Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School, South Paris, Central Maine Library District

Review Date: September 17, 2018

Review

When the Wild West is swept up in a plague that turns people and animals into undead things called shakes, it takes a very special kind of girl to survive such circumstances. Willie is that girl. Her mother dies from the disease, and Willie is left to raise her younger siblings as their father is a shiftless drunk who they rarely see. The kids are holed up in Glory, Texas, an isolated town fenced in to keep the shakes out, and fallen under the rule of ruthless shake hunters. Willie finds her family in peril when her father steals a huge sum of money from one of the hunters, and Willie must pay the debt. Luckily, she finds two young hunters willing to help her for cheap, and they venture out into the shake-filled desert to find her father, get the money, or die trying. It's not often you find a book peopled with both cowboys and zombies, but "Devils Unto Dust" does it very well. The scenario works well in a post Civil War Texas, and there is even reference to timely historical innovations, such as vaccinations and the transcontinental railroad. Best of all, Willie isn't just another spunky pioneer girl, but a young woman who tries to do the right thing even though she is lonely, afraid, and angry.

Overall Book Score: excellent

About the Book

Author:

Berquist, Emma

Illustrator: ,

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Book Type: chapter book fiction

Genre: adventure,science fiction

Audience: grades 7-9,grades 10-12

Binding Type: Choose Binding Type

Binding Quality: very good

ISBN: 9780062642783

Price: 17.99

Deep Dark Blue

Deep Dark Blue

Reviewed by: Jennifer Lance - Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School, South Paris, Central Maine Library District

Review Date: September 18, 2018

Review

Polo Tate recounts her journey from idealistic high school athlete to U.S. Air Force Academy recruit, to traumatized assault survivor. Polo had dreamed from a very young age of joining the Air Force, so it's with excitement and anticipation that she heads to the Academy for basic training and to become a member of their elite volleyball team. She's someone who is used to succeeding, both as a student and as an athlete, so when things start to go wrong, she assumes if she works harder, than things will be better. Unfortunately, harassment and abuse escalate to an assault. Compounding the injury, Polo is not believed by her peers, and a very large upperclassman works hard to break her spirit and prevent her from pursuing justice. This is a great story of resilience and overcoming adversity. Since this is a book aimed at a younger audience, I wish that Polo had emphasized more how important it is to have people who support you, as nobody makes it through something like this on their own. However, this story will certainly resonate with high school girls, particularly athletes.

Overall Book Score: good

About the Book

Author:

Tate, Polo

Illustrator: ,

Publisher: Feiwel and Friends

Book Type: chapter book nonfiction

Genre: biography / autobiography

Audience: grades 10-12

Binding Type: trade edition

Binding Quality: excellent

ISBN: 9781250128539

Price: 18.99

Aftermath

Aftermath

Reviewed by: Jennifer Lance - Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School, South Paris, Central Maine Library District

Review Date: September 18, 2018

Review

Skye's life fell apart after her brother was killed in a school shooting. But Luka wasn't a victim, he was a shooter, and one of the students gunned down was the brother of her best friend/crush, Jesse. Flash forward three years and Skye is moving back to the town that her family fled in the aftermath of the tragedy. Her Dad is gone, Mom is clinically depressed, her grandmother is very ill, and she hasn't seen or spoken to Jesse since the incident-but she's still convinced that her brother was innocent. Skye is shocked to find that Jesse -previously a straight A student-is troubled and struggling. When she finds herself the victim of a series of cruel pranks and bullying at school, she and Jesse team up to find out what really happened that day, but it seems that someone will do anything to keep the past buried. This is a timely subject for a mystery, and highlights how an act of violence victimizes many people, including the family of the shooter.

Overall Book Score: very good