Thursday Teen Book Review: That Night by Cyn Balog

Publication Date: June 4th, 2019Hailey wants to know the truth, but there are some secrets that are best left buried…

Hailey is determined to find out all she can about her boyfriend's suicide. She knows Declan wouldn't kill himself, even if she can't remember a lot of what lead up to that fateful night.

Kane, Declan's stepbrother and Hailey's best friend, wants to move past what happened—not dig up bad memories. But the more Hailey searches for information, the more she remembers.

As the truth begins to unravel, Hailey finds herself unveiling secrets she never could have imagined—secrets that have the possibility of ruining everything... 

From the Publisher:

Some secrets are best left buried...

It’s been a year since Hailey’s boyfriend Declan died, and Hailey is still far from okay. She’s lost almost all her friends, her grades are falling, and she pretty much lives wrapped up in bed. Everyone says Declan’s death was a suicide—after all, his father’s gun was found near his body—but Hailey knows that the happy, confident Declan she knew would never do that. She’s positive. The problem is, she can’t remember anything from the day he died.

Kane, Declan’s stepbrother and Hailey’s best friend, thinks that everyone should move on—why relive the pain? But when Hailey sees a strange picture with a threatening message amongst Declan’s belongings, she’s convinced she has proof that there’s more to the story. Hailey starts searching for answers and throws herself into memories her subconscious tried to make her forget…and the deeper she looks, the more she remembers.

But the truth she uncovers will be more dangerous and more devastating than she could have ever imagined. 

My thoughts: 

Such a good thriller and brilliant character study. I loved how the relationships were so complex in this book. There is a bit of unreliable narrator plot stuff going on—I kind of saw it coming as I’ve read Cyn Balog’s previous work, but still… A great mystery with a solid twist.

Recommended.

Caution: you might be up late reading this one…

**Publisher provided e-copy for review**

Congrats to the Edgar Nominees!

The Edgar nominees were just announced--congrats to everyone who made the list! Here are the top contenders in Juvenile and YA:

BEST JUVENILE

Audacity Jones Steals the Show by Kirby Larson (Scholastic – Scholastic Press)
Vanished! By James Ponti (Simon & Schuster – Aladdin)
The Assassin’s Curse by Kevin Sands (Simon & Schuster – Aladdin)
First Class Murder by Robin Stevens (Simon & Schuster – Simon & Schuster BFYR)
NewsPrints by Ru Xu (Scholastic – Graphix)
 
BEST YOUNG ADULT
 
The Cruelty by Scott Bergstrom (Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group – Feiwel & Friends)
Grit by Gillian French (HarperCollins Publishers – HarperTeen)
The Impossible Fortress by Jason Rekulak (Simon & Schuster)
Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds (Simon & Schuster – Atheneum Books for Young Readers)
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (HarperCollins Publishers – Balzer + Bray)

You can find the full list of all category nominees on the MWA Edgars site.

Thursday Teen Book Review: This Is Not A Love Letter by Kim Purcell

Release date: Jan. 30, 2018

From the Publisher:

One week. That's all Jessie said. A one-week break to get some perspective before graduation, before she and her boyfriend, Chris, would have to make all the big, scary decisions about their future--decisions they had been fighting about for weeks.  

Then, Chris vanishes. The police think he's run away, but Jessie doesn't believe it. Chris is popular and good-looking, about to head off to college on a full-ride baseball scholarship. And he disappeared while going for a run along the river--the same place where some boys from the rival high school beat him up just three weeks ago. Chris is one of the only black kids in a depressed paper mill town, and Jessie is terrified of what might have happened.  

As the police are spurred to reluctant action, Jessie and others speak up about the harassment Chris experienced and the danger he could be in. But there are people in Jessie's town who are infuriated by the suggestion that a boy like Chris would be a target of violence. They smear Chris's character and Jessie begins receiving frightening threats. 

Every Friday since they started dating, Chris has written Jessie a love letter. Now Jessie is writing Chris a letter of her own to tell him everything that's happening while he's gone. As Jessie searches for answers, she must face her fears, her guilt, and a past more complicated than she would like to admit.  

My thoughts: 

The writing in this book is superb--from the first pages, instead of telling you the story in some over-the-top, grab-your-attention way, the author drops you in the middle of the action. Jessie's boyfriend Chris has gone missing, and we follow her like a fly on the wall in the hours that follow: in the chaos, the finger-pointing, the immediate sense that everyone has something to hide.

The story delves deep into teen drama in a way that is very accurate: the harassment of a black boy in a predominantly white town, the girl backstabbing, the complexity of teen relationships. Jessie feels guilty in a way we can all relate too, as she looks back at her relationship with Chris and what she might've done different. The love letter angle didn't do much for me, but I could see teen readers enjoying it.

In the end, the book delves deep into mental illness in a very teen-centric way--somewhat dramatically, but I think very appropriately so considering how the story ends. I spend a lot of time with teens who deal with mental illness, and I'd highly recommend this book to anyone dealing with this type of tragedy, which is difficult to understand.

**NetGalley provided review copy for honest review**

Thursday YA book review: I Am The Messenger by Markus Zusak

From the publisher:

protect the diamonds
survive the clubs
dig deep through the spades
feel the hearts

Ed Kennedy is an underage cabdriver without much of a future. He's pathetic at playing cards, hopelessly in love with his best friend, Audrey, and utterly devoted to his coffee-drinking dog, the Doorman. His life is one of peaceful routine and incompetence until he inadvertently stops a bank robbery.
That's when the first ace arrives in the mail.

That's when Ed becomes the messenger.

Chosen to care, he makes his way through town helping and hurting (when necessary) until only one question remains: Who's behind Ed's mission?

My thoughts:

Although The Book Thief is Zusak's hit novel, I really like his earlier books. It's hard to find YA with a strong guy protagonist, and Zusak nails these every time.

I Am The Messenger is gritty, and would technically fall in the New Adult category here in the States (Ed has graduated high school, even if he sort of stalled out since). I liked the mystery of the cards, of the messages, and of the muscle dudes coming to beat Ed up. There's plenty of humor, and the whole novel hinges on character, which is what makes it so great.

Loved Ed's dog, the Doorman.

I Am The Messenger is one of those books that transcends genre classifications like YA, mystery, whatever. It's just a great book. Highly recommend for anyone over fourteen.

Edgar Award nominees for Best Juvenile and Best YA

In case you missed it, last week Mystery Writers of America announced their Edgar Award nominees. As always, I'm going to make an attempt to read the Juvenile and YA category books.


In case you feel like joining in, here is the list:

BEST JUVENILE

Strike Three, You're Dead by Josh Berk (Random House Children's Books – Alfred A. Knopf BFYR)

Moxie and the Art of Rule Breaking by Erin Dionne (Penguin Young Readers Group – Dial)

P.K. Pinkerton and the Petrified Man by Caroline Lawrence

 (Penguin Young Readers Group – Putnam Juvenile)

Lockwood & Co.: The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud

(Disney Publishing Worldwide – Disney-Hyperion)

One Came Home by Amy Timberlake (Random House Children's Books – Alfred A. Knopf BFYR)

BEST YA

 

 All the Truth That's In Me by Julie Berry
(Penguin Young Readers Group – Viking Juvenile)
Far Far Away by Tom McNeal (Random House Children's Books – Alfred A. Knopf BFYR)
Criminal by Terra Elan McVoy (Simon & Schuster – Simon Pulse)
How to Lead a Life of Crime by Kirsten Miller
(Penguin Young Readers Group – Razorbill)
Ketchup Clouds by Annabel Pitcher (Hachette Book Group – Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)

Confession time: I had not heard of most of these... Since I read a lot of MG and YA mysteries, I did see the (very long) list of submissions, so I guess it's not surprising that these titles are unfamiliar to me. There are just so many books being published--which is a good thing.

I do have to say that I was surprised how many strong YA and MG mysteries from the submissions did not make the list this year, including ones by fairly well-known mystery authors... I guess awards are always a bit of a mystery, huh?

I'll be sure to review the nominees as I read them! This'll be fun...

 

Why Birmingham Is Where It's At

I've been a bit quiet around here lately, as you may have noticed. I'd like to say that I'm off having summer fun, but it's more like I've been hiding out from the HEAT. July is hitting me full force here in ol' Mississippi. I'm catching myself saying things like, "Lord, have mercy," and "It's a scorcher, y'all."

It's a little frightening, I know.

But I thought I'd come out of air-conditioned hiding for a moment to tell you about a cool event in Birmingham this October: the Southern Breeze chapter of SCBWI is having their annual fall conference (Writing and Illustrating for Kids) October 19-20.

And I'll be on the faculty with a workshop on YA and MG mysteries. It'll be fun, so I hope you'll consider coming to Birmingham. I know, it's hot in Alabama too, but I hear it's lovely in October...

Get the scoop on the Southern Breeze Writing and Illustrating for Kids conference here.

Come See Me Over At Sleuth, Spies and Alibis

I'm the new kid on the (cell) block over at Sleuths, Spies and Alibis, a group blog all about YA and MG mysteries. Cool, right? Come say hi and check out the blog; there's lots of good stuff to read.

Oh, and the best part? No one has warned them to hide the silver yet, so shhh....