Review of The Lonely Dead by April Henry

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Henry, April.  The Lonely Dead.  Henry Holt, 2019.

Adele Meeker has the paranormal ability of being able to see and talk to dead people.  However, for her whole life, she has been told that she is schizophrenic, just like her mother and grandmother were.  Adele doesn’t like how she feels when she is medicated, so she stops taking her pills. 

When Adele is walking through the park one late afternoon, she sees Tori Rasmussen, her former best friend, sitting on the cold ground and wearing summer clothes, even though it is wintertime.  She realizes that Tori is dead even though Tori does not know it.  Adele anonymously notifies the police but eventually becomes a suspect in this horrendous crime.  She realizes that the only way to clear her name is to try to solve the murder.  With the help of Charlie Lauderdale, a classmate and the son of a local police detective, Adele sifts through possible suspects, even, at times, blaming herself.

It has been a long time since I was so engrossed in a book that I could not put it down.   This happens every time I pick up one of April Henry’s mysteries.  She manages to keep the pace of the story moving and keep the reader guessing and the pages turning.  Call me naïve, but I didn’t guess who the murderer was until nearly the very end of the novel.

Adele and Tori are both such strong female characters.  Students have talked about Adele her whole life, calling her crazy, but she has ignored them.   Even when her Grandpa didn’t believe in her, she felt she could change his mind.  Tori is a wisecracking, blunt girl, and is known for putting people in their places.  She is never afraid to speak her mind even when she is dead.

April Henry does her research, and I love the way she deftly works in information allowing the reader to see how the forensic process works.  I always learn something when I read her books.  My favorite scene was the one in which Adele is on a school field trip and talks to Rebecca, the girl who died on the Oregon Trail.  That was a funny and insightful conversation!

Hand this book to fans of April Henry’s books and those mystery fans that are always looking for a page-turner!  I highly recommend it for middle school, high school, and public libraries and give it five out of five fleur de lis.

Review of Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson

Johnson, Maureen.  Truly Devious.  HarperCollins, 2018.

In the 1930s, affluent, but unconventional, Alfred Ellingham founded the exclusive Ellingham Academy in the mountains of Vermont, with hopes of attracting the future’s smartest, brightest, and most creative minds.  Students were allowed to learn at their own pace and take on personal projects tailored to their interests.  Not long after, Ellingham’s wife and three-year-old daughter were kidnapped.  Someone calling himself “Truly Devious” took credit for the crime and demanded ransom for the victims.  Unfortunately, the ransom drop went horribly wrong, supposedly leading to the death of Alfred’s wife.  His daughter, Iris, was never found.  At about the same time, one of the students was also found murdered in a tunnel on the school property.  Although someone was charged and found guilty, the true perpetrator was never found.

Jump ahead to present day, and a new class of students is arriving at the academy.  Among those students is Stevie Bell, an amateur detective, who hopes she can solve the Ellingham mysteries.  She considers herself to be an expert on the case because she has read and studied everything she could find on it.  Now another student has died mysteriously in the same tunnel, and the school is in an uproar.  Despite anxiety attacks, teenage drama, and a schoolgirl crush, Stevie must now solve more than one case.

Truly Devious is a fresh take on the basic crime novel.  The story alternates between the present and the 1930s, using flashbacks to describe the school and the crimes that happened in there in thirties.  The school’s grounds and buildings are beautifully described and seem idyllic in nature.  There is a cast of well-fleshed-out and exceptionally diverse set of characters—in gender, ethnicity, race, and other aspects.  There are laugh-out-loud funny moments, plot twists, surprises, with just a little romance thrown in for good measure.  Just when you think you know who the murderer is, something happens to change your mind and keep you guessing!  Of course, there is that dreaded cliffhanger, leading the reader yearning for next book in the series.

Hand this novel to your students who are fans of Sherlock Holmes or Agatha Christie.  I recommend it to middle school, high school, and public libraries and give it four out of five fleur de lis!

Some Random Thoughts on Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Flynn, Gillian.  Gone Girl.  Broadway Books, 2014.

This will not be my normal review with a plot synopsis since most readers have already either read this book, seen the movie, or both.  So I am going to dispense with the summary and go on to the critique.
Gone Girl is a character-driven novel, and most of the players have "larger-than-life" personalities.  It is rare for me to dislike most of the characters in a novel.  I can honestly say that the only characters I felt any empathy toward were Nick's twin sister, Go, and the female police officer, Boney.  I detested both Nick and his wife, Amy; they were self-indulgent, spoiled, and self-centered.  The same can be said for Amy's parents--they were controlling, manipulative, and conniving.   Amy is a proof that the "apple doesn't fall far from the tree".  I would imagine that it was probably the author's intention that readers would be averse to these characters.  All this being said, I was pulling for Nick to win at the book's conclusion.
It was very smart to have the story told through both Nick's viewpoint and Amy's "soon-to-be-found" diary. The plot is genius--well-planned and contains unseen twists and turns that keeps the pages turning.  And the ending---WOWZA--I did not see that coming!  It was definitely a big surprise!
High school libraries will need to use caution if they choose to add this title to their collections.  There is an abundance of adult situations in this novel.  I highly recommend it for public libraries' adult collections.  I give it five out of five fleur de lis!

Review of Nearly Gone by Elle Cosimano

Cosimano, Elle.  Nearly Gone.  Kathy Dawson Books (Penguin), 2014.

           

Sixteen-year-old Nearly Boswell is smart, especially in chemistry, where she is vying for a huge scholarship against her best friend, Ahn, and another student.  She is also getting community service hours by tutoring fellow students.  She and her mom, a stripper at a local club, had to move into a dilapidated trailer park five years earlier when her father left them.  She feels that the scholarship could be her ticket out of Sunny View Mobile Home Park and her present life.  But Nearly has a special, but unwanted, talent.  When someone touches her she can taste the emotions that person is feeling. 

Obsessed with the personal ads in the newspaper, Nearly hopes to read a message from her absent father.  Instead, she finds mysterious math and science messages that foreshadow attacks on the students she is tutoring.  Nearly realizes that the killer is taunting her and challenging her to solve the crimes.  She thinks he is also trying to frame her for the attacks, which have progressively turned into murders.

A new student, Reece Whelan, is assigned to be tutored by Nearly, but she doesn’t want to have anything to do with him.  But as more of her students die, she turns to him for help instead of her best friend, Jeremy, who wants to be more than friends.

It’s literally a race against time to catch the killer.  Will Nearly and Reece be able to solve it in time to save her and prevent more deaths?

Nearly Gone is extremely character-driven, and is a very well-written mystery. Nearly is smart, tough, and streetwise—a great protagonist!  Reece comes across as a typical bad boy, but actually has a soft, protective side to him that girls will love.  The cryptic clues so cleverly worked into the novel had me stumped during the whole story.  Elle Cosimano’s debut novel will keep readers guessing and turning pages until the very end.  It is scheduled to be available on March 25, 2014.  I highly recommend it for high school and public libraries.   I give it five out of five fleur de lis!

Review of Find Me by Romily Bernard

Bernard, Romily.  Find Me.  HarperTeen, 2013.

Wicket Tate and her younger sister, Lily, are living with their newest set of foster parents in an affluent neighborhood.  Lily loves her new life, but Wick is only cautiously comfortable.  She is a hacker extraordinaire, but she only hacks to keep she and Lily safe.  Besides, Wick is only helping women who have domestic problems.  If she and Lily have to leave because their dad shows up, the money will come in handy.

One morning, Wick finds her former best friend’s diary on her foster parents’ doorstep with a note that says, “Find me” attached.  Tessa committed suicide, so why would anyone need to find her?  Did the detective who keeps stalking Wick put it there?  The answer comes in the form of Tessa’s sister, Tally, who tells Wick that Tessa was raped, and Lily is the next target.  Tally wants Wick to use her hacker skills to discover who raped Tessa and to save Lily.

To complicate matters, Wick’s dad and partner are planning a con scheme and are dragging Wick into it.  Wick hoped her dad was out of her life, but he may never be.  She can’t tell her foster parents because what would they think?

Wick and her computer lab partner, Griff, work through clues to find the rapist and bring him to justice.  Will they be able to locate him in time to save Lily?

What a thrilling mystery this is!  Romily Bernard’s debut novel is filled with twists and turns to keep the pages quickly turning.  This is one of those books readers will not be able to put down. 

The two main characters, Wick and Griff, are strong and dependable.  Wick has been through so much in her life—her mom’s suicide, her dad’s brutal abuse, several foster homes—but she has not broken.  Grief and guilt over her mother can be felt pouring from her.  Griff has his own problems, but he is a stabilizing influence in Wick’s life when she finally allows him to be.  He is a loving, reassuring, and an all-around good guy.  Wick and Lily’s father and his partner are pure evil.  Wick’s dad manages to control the girls’ lives through his contacts even when he is not around.

Find Me is not for immature readers.  It is the first volume in a new series of the same name.  Remember Me, the second installment, is scheduled to debut on Sept. 24, 2014.  I highly recommend Find Me for high school and public libraries and give it five out of five fleur de lis!