YA Edgar Nominee Review: The Silence of Murder by Dandi Daley Mackall

My last read for the Edgar nominees for best YA is The Silence of Murder by Dandi Daley Mackall. This one was darker than the others at the opening: we're sitting in the court room with Hope while her brother Jeremy is on trial for murder. Not your light YA fare.

Against her better judgement, Hope testifies to their rough childhood so Jeremy, who no longer speaks, can be declared insane. In dark and clipped prose--my favorite--we learn that their mother is an unfit one, and an alcoholic too. But Hope (as her name implies) doesn't give up, and keeps looking for evidence to clear her brother's name. We delve deep into family history, small-town scandals, so the only way this mystery will be solved is by opening every can of worms.

This story was gripping, and the author didn't pull any punches when it came to the stakes. The resolution was a bit over-staged, but why not--I was right there as Hope revealed the killer. My only gripe was with the at times heavy religious message and quoting of scripture, particularly toward the end. It made the resolution very moralizing, and took away from the great grit this mystery has. Still, solid plotting, and a good murder mystery.

Verdict: a good mystery, could appeal to both boys and girls. Some religious overtones.

Mystery Quotient: 5 out of 5. Plotting a bit on the stretchy side, but done with heart.

YA Edgar Nominee Review: The Girl Is Murder by Kathryn Miller Haines

The next book in my YA Edgar nominees read-o-rama is The Girl Is Murder by Kathryn Miller Haines. As the cover hints, this YA mystery takes us to the forties, when Iris is struggling with the familiar YA stand-by: new school, new people.

But in the historical context, this YA cliche became fresh and interesting. Iris goes from a private to public school after her mother dies, and finds herself hanging with not-so-popular Pearl. To make matters worse, her P.I. father, an injured war veteran, is hanging on by a thread financially--which is what prompts Iris to help him with his cases. Her stubbornness is endearing, and her search for belonging in her new life recognizable.

Iris' quest shifts when a boy at her new school goes missing, and she begins her amateur sleuth quest for his whereabouts. We quickly get caught in some girl-drama, 1940s style. The historical detail in setting, dialogue and social mood were spot-on; big kudos to the author for getting the details right. This historical context got in the way of the story though, and the mystery's resolution felt a little disappointing to me. Still, The Girl Is Murder is a very solid P.I. mystery, well-plotted, and a unique read.

Verdict: recommended for a teen-view of the 1940s in America, probably better-suited for girls.

Mystery Quotient: 5 out of 5; a solid P.I. mystery.

YA Edgar Nominee Review: The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

The third book in my kid lit Edgar nominees read-a-thon gave me a change of pace. After the fast-paced thrillers by Harlan Coben and Todd Strasser, Maureen Johnson's The Name of the Star felt like a slower ride. But the book was no less interesting and gripping, just more of a mystery. There's a puzzle to solve, so settle in and enjoy the journey, was what this book seemed to say.

Rory, a teen from Louisiana, gets to spend a year at a London boarding school. Okay, so I rolled my eyes a little when I saw this boarding school angle--let's face it, it's been done. But Johnson obviously did her homework, because the details of the British school system and the colorful way she described Wexford made me regret my initial reaction. I quickly got to love Jazza, Jerome, and the rest of the Wexford population.

The book opens with the usual mystery body discovery, but then it took a while to get back to the dunnit--largely because Johnson took a good amount of time to let us watch Rory scramble to adjust to Wexford. But eventually, it becomes pretty clear that the story is not just any mystery, but a ghost hunting expedition as well.

I won't spoil the rest of the book, because you really should read it yourself. Despite some pacing and revelation hiccups, The Name of the Star is such a smart, well-written story that I didn't care that I had to watch Rory get settled at Wexford before the mystery got hot. Great YA voice, too. It's Agatha Christie meets Ghostbusters meets YA. If that makes sense.

Verdict: Perfect YA. Girl protagonist, but not a girly book, so recommended for guys too. Smart. Cool.

Mystery Quotient: 4 out 5 because of the supernatural element. But pacing more like a traditional mystery.

Side-note: This is just the sort of book I wish had been around when I was a teen.

Edgar Nominee Review: Kill You Last by Todd Strasser

Book two on my Tour des Edgars (doesn't that sound fancy?) is Kill You Last by Todd Strasser. A great cover that promises a snappy mystery/thriller.

And Strasser didn't disappoint. It took me a minute to shift gears from Harlan Coben's male POV to a decidedly more girl-friendly book, but once I got a few pages in, I was hooked. Break-neck pace, solid mystery--the perfect blend of mystery and thriller.

The story follows Shelby, daughter of a small-town but once big-shot photographer. When three missing girls are linked to her father and his questionably photography practices, she quickly gets caught in the media circus that puts her family life in chaos. Meanwhile, she's receiving threatening texts, and is alienated at school.

Shelby has to dig for the truth about her father's involvement in these girls' disappearances, all while trying to figure out who she can trust.

Kill You Last is a great mystery: I was wondering right along with Shelby what everyone's motive really was. Strasser had me staying up late, flipping the pages, so it had that great thriller element as well. I wasn't too crazy about the whole which-boy-do-we-like plotline, but that's more of a personal preference. Some of the dunnit and the title importance was a bit of a stretch, but not implausible.


Mystery quotient: 4 out of 5, mostly because of the thriller pacing. A solid mystery that leaves you guessing, but makes sense once you get to the reveal.


Verdict: Great for the reluctant reader teen, 14 and up. Main characters drive cars, and deal with mature subject matter, so definitely squarely in the YA category. But no questionable content at all. Probably more for a girl, but might stretch to boy territory because of the strong thriller factor.


Side Note: I liked Kill You Last. This Edgar race might just be tough to predict...

Edgar Nominee Review: Shelter by Harlan Coben

This time of year is always a delight for me as the YA Sleuth, because I get to read the Edgar nominees for best YA. I don't normally post reviews here, mostly because there are many blogs and websites that do a much better job than I could here.

But! For the Edgar nominees, I make an exception. See, I started this blog a few years ago because I had a hard time finding solid mysteries in the YA department of my library and bookstore. So now I like to report on the Edgar nominees to check on the quality of mysteries in YA, and kid lit too.

Here are my thoughts on Edgar nominee Shelter, by Harlan Coben: 

I started reading this book with an extra sceptical eye when I saw who the author was--I know, not fair. But often when a writer crossed from fiction for adults to fiction for kids, it doesn't produce the best books. Writing for teens is just a different beast, and it's not for every author.

But Shelter had me pleasantly surprised. Sure, it opened with a few YA cliches: the protagonist is the new kid in town, we're in the cafeteria, sizing up the cliques, etc. But the voice was spot-on: fun, snappy dialogue, with a hint of dry wit. So I could look past the familiar trappings of YA, and stick around to see what our lead character Mickey was going to do about the disappearance of his hot sort-of girlfriend Ashley.

We meet Ema, the outcast, overweight goth girl, and Spoon, the geek--fun characters who become Mickey's best friends as he tries to uncover why Ashley disappeared, and how his father's death links to the mystery he's trying to solve. Rapid pace, snappy dialogue, and heroic acts that push the boundaries of the old suspension of disbelief but don't break them make Shelter loads of fun to read.

Mystery quotient: a four out of five, mostly because it felt more like a thriller at times.

Verdict: Perfect for the reluctant reader.

Side note:
Aside from simply enjoying the book, I was very excited to read it because I hear so often that YA for boys doesn't sell, and how men don't read as much as women. We need more books like Shelter, ones that read like commercial thrillers but are written for teens. I hope we'll see more Mickey Bolitar books from Coben, whether the book wins this Edgar (or Anthony--Shelter got a nomination for that as well) or not.

Edgar Nominees Announced

The Edgar nominees have been announced! Thank goodness, because my TBR pile was starting to look less like a sidetable and more like a doorstop. Check out the full list at MWA; I'll give you the Juvenile (mixed bag of MG and earlier readers) and YA here:

BEST JUVENILE
Zora and Me by Victoria Bond and T.R. Simon (Candlewick Press)
The Buddy Files: The Case of the Lost Boy by Dori Hillestad Butler (Albert Whitman & Co.)
The Haunting of Charles Dickens by Lewis Buzbee (Feiwel & Friends)
Griff Carver: Hallway Patrol by Jim Krieg (Penguin Young Readers Group - Razorbill)
The Secret Life of Ms. Finkleman by Ben H. Winters (HarperCollins Children’s Books)

BEST YOUNG ADULT
The River by Mary Jane Beaufrand (Little Brown Books for Young Readers)
Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King (Random House Children’s Books – Alfred A. Knopf)
7 Souls by Barnabas Miller and Jordan Orlando (Random House Children’s Books – Delacorte Press)
The Interrogation of Gabriel James by Charlie Price
(Farrar, Straus, Giroux Books for Young Readers)
Dust City by Robert Paul Weston (Penguin Young Readers Group - Razorbill)

Very exciting during this dreary January! I've read none of these (shame on me), so I look forward to diving in. And as always, I'll keep you posted on what I think of all these books, just in case you care.

Oh, and ITW: where's your kids award category??

Edgar Winners!

It's Edgar time! The winners have been announced; Peter Abrahams' Reality Check won in YA, and Closed for the Season by Mary Downing Hahn won in Best Juvenile (this would be middlegrade).

Congrats to the winners, and Happy Friday!

2010 YA Edgar Nominees: The Verdict

So what are my impressions of the 2010 YA Edgar Noms, you ask (or maybe you don’t, but I’ll give my opinion anyway)?

I thought every book was a solid mystery, which was so great to see this year. Where last year’s nominees were good, they weren’t quite the strong mysteries I’d hoped for. But this year was impressive.

What I liked was the diversity: there was a paranormal mystery (Shadowed Summer), a suspense/mystery (Reality Check), an unexpected Victorian (Petronella Saves Nearly Everyone), an old-school younger YA mystery (If The Witness Lied), and a fun whodunit, YA style (The Morgue and Me). What a great mix!

While all of these had their merits and are strong contenders, if I had to make my bet on who will win, I would say it’s The Morgue and Me by John C. Ford. While all the other nominees are good, this book has the strongest voice, which is what YA is all about.

So we’ll see in April if I’m right (I’m wrong all the time, so I’m not actually betting any money). Until then: kudos to the MWA people for choosing such excellent books, congrats to the authors, and thanks from the YA Sleuth for such a fun reading ride.

Mystery really does rock, and even more so when it’s YA.

2010 YA Edgar Review: Petronella Saves Nearly Everyone by Dene Low

I like to think of myself as a pretty open-minded reader, but Petronella Saves Nearly Everyone truly stumped me. The book felt like some Victorian English play, with lines like, “Although one may have stacks of money, not to mention an impeccable social position, there are times when one wishes for the homely pleasure of encircling parental arms.”

This book was hard for me to read, something entirely my flaw, no doubt. Anyway, here’s the plot, in short: 16 year-old Petronella’s guardian Uncle Augustus has started eating bugs at her party. There’s police, ransom notes, and she has to solve the mystery.

As much as I hate to cop out, I’m going to refrain from scoring this one, because I don’t feel I’m qualified. One thought did come to mind: how many teenagers are into Victorian-style dialogue? All the same, it’s a rightful Edgar nominee with a solid mystery.

2010 YA Edgar Review: The Morgue and Me by John C. Ford

Christopher has a job at the morgue for the summer. He cleans part-time, and finds the job pretty uneventful, until the body of Mitch Blaylock shows up at the morgue. That same day, Christopher finds $15k in cash in the medical examiner (his boss)’s office. He quickly figures out that something’s not right about the investigation into Blaylock’s murder. He joins young reporter Tina (who’s also hot) to find out why Blaylock’s murder is being covered up.

With a solid mystery and suspenseful plot turns, The Morgue and Me is a great read. Although this is an older YA (Christopher has just graduated; there’s some boozing and sleeping over going on), the voice really nails the genre, in my opinion. I give this a 4.5 out of 5—great read.

2010 YA Edgar Nominee Review: If the Witness Lied by Caroline B. Cooney

I always look forward to a Caroline B. Cooney novel, since hers are strong YA mysteries in a genre where straight mysteries are hard to find. If the Witness Lied starts strong, with Jack, Smithy and Madison as our siblings lead characters, and Diana, who babysits three year-old Tris in the family. Aunt Cheryl is the kids’ guardian, after their father died in an accident that has been blamed on little Tris.

Cleverly using shifts, Cooney uses a trail of clues to uncover who killed the kids’ father. Meanwhile, Aunt Cheryl is determined to get the family on TV, painting Tris as an evil child.

Although the mystery in this book is solid, the ‘bad guy’ was so glaringly obvious from even the book jacket description, I felt like putting the book away pretty quickly. Still, nicely plotted, and I might be a too-seasoned mystery reader for this book. I give If the Witness Lied a 4 out of 5.

2010 YA Edgar Nominee: Reality Check by Peter Abrahams

First on the list of this year's Edgar Nominees, Reality Check has a solid premise: girl goes missing, and now the mystery is where she went. Our lead is Cody, Montana football player with torn knee, who has just dropped out of high school when his girlfriend goes missing at her boarding school in Vermont. He drives to Vermont to find out what happened, and gets caught in rich family drama and Vermont town secrets.

Reality Check took a while to get started—it wasn’t until roughly 100 pages in that Clea goes missing. But then the suspense gets pretty good, with a fair amount of mysteries for Cody to solve. The ending was a good one, suspense-novel style (won’t give it away).

This is definitely an older YA, where the characters bordered on adult in their behavior and interactions. Though Reality Check is a strong contender for an Edgar, I think it would be an even stronger contender if International Thriller Writers had a YA category. I give it a 4 out of 5.

Next Week: YA Edgar Extravaganza!

But wait, you say, isn't the Edgar banquet on April 29th? Yes, it is, but I thought I would have my own little 2010 YA Edgar round-up right here on the blog. I've read all of these books:

BEST YOUNG ADULT

Reality Check by Peter Abrahams (HarperCollins Children’s Books – HarperTeen)
If the Witness Lied by Caroline B. Cooney (Random House Children’s Books – Delacorte Press)
The Morgue and Me by John C. Ford (Penguin Young Readers Group – Viking Children’s Books)
Petronella Saves Nearly Everyone by Dene Low (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children’s Books)
Shadowed Summer by Saundra Mitchell (Random House Children’s Books – Delacorte Press)


And Sunday through Thursday, I will post the review of one of these fine books every day--plus on Friday, I'll make my own prediction of who will win. So it's a pre-Edgar read-a-thon, kind of.

I hope you'll check in next week. It'll be fun, and I find that the Edgars are a good way to tell where YA mystery is at. A quick opinion: all of this year's nominees are solid mysteries (some of last year's, though impressive reads, were not quite making my mystery cut).

So next week is our YA Edgar Extravaganza! Exciting, no? It's like the Olympics for YA mystery fans.

The 2009 YA Edgar Nominees, or Fleur Found Her Soapbox

I’ve now read all the 2009 YA Edgar nominees, in case you’ve been hanging around the blog long enough to remember when I started this exercise. The point, for me anyway, was to see what’s happening in YA mystery today—what does it take to make the YA Edgar shortlist in 2009? I wanted to know.

And I was kind of… well, disappointed, if you want to know the truth. Don’t get me wrong: all of these books are worth reading—some should even be required reading, I think. But out of all of these, only one was a mystery. In my opinion.

Two of the nominees’ sole crime was a case of peer pressure/bullying-gone-wild (Getting the Girl and The Big Splash—though extra points for this one’s originality), one was a chase for a girl who was not really missing, so no real crime there either (Paper Towns), however nice the writing. One was a literary masterpiece (Bog Child), but not a book where the protagonist is solving a mystery—he’s just surviving his environment. There was no chase, no detective work. The only book that made the cut, or my cut anyway, was Torn to Pieces. And it didn’t even win—but let’s forget that for the moment.

I’ve spent a lot of time arguing the point that every book is a mystery, that all books have unanswered questions, so mysteries in them.

But I was wrong.

There is a distinct difference between the definition of a mystery in general, and a book that is labeled a mystery. I won’t go into label/genre definitions, because we could be here all day (and nobody wants that). I’ll put it this way: if these books weren’t written for teens, they wouldn’t be filed under mystery (with Torn to Pieces as the exception). Simple as that. They don’t explore human nature through crime, they don’t have the mystery or crime as a central plot element, and would be filed under general fiction if you took out the YA component.

So what’s the big whoop, you say. They’re good books, you said so yourself.

But these are Edgar nominees! These are supposed to be the year's best in mystery YA—what gives? Where are the YA mysteries?

Why, if mystery and suspense is one of the bestselling categories in fiction written for adults, is the genre so sadly represented in YA? Plenty of mystery and crime on TV. Why not in YA fiction? Are we afraid the kids might get squeamish? Or is it really the parents and librarians we worry about? Plenty of librarians who love mystery, I meet them all the time at fan conferences. So why so few mysteries in YA?

I want to know. Because I love mysteries. Mysteries explore human nature in an ultimate show-don’t-tell fashion. The best literary novels I’ve read are filed under mystery. The genre has merit, dangit. And I’m convinced that this category is neglected in YA. Just look at the Edgars this year, if you don’t believe me.

So what to do, Fleur? Well, I’m changing my blog description: I’m no longer finding the mystery in YA, I’m just looking for mystery books in YA. And every time I find one, a bonafide, true mystery with a crime in it that someone is solving YA-style, I’ll list it here.

I’m a little ticked off by how lousy mystery is represented in YA, if you haven’t figured it out yet. And I found my soapbox again. Lucky me.