McClintock, Norah. She Said/She Saw.

McClintock, Norah.  She Said/She Saw.  

Orca  2011  211p  12.95 978-1-55469-335-1 

ms/hs   Realistic Fiction       VG-BN 

Tegan witnesses a murder of two friends in

the front seat of a car.  Unable to delve into her own mind to help police solve

the crime, she shuts down.  Even her best friend refuses to believe her, leading

her to take surprising steps in the end to help police.     

Norah McClintock sure can tell a story!  She creates a duo of sisters who are credible in their

jealousy and anti-relationship, she creates a murder scenario that is eerie and

unexplainable and finally, she uses originality in her presentation that the

reader will simply adore!  For one, her use of a play-like structure is

intriguing and thought-provoking.  Young adults will enjoy figuring out who is

presenting a chapter and where the characters are and using that information to

help them comprehend the events of the plot as it rolls forward.  For another,

the drama at the end will astound the reader!  Older sister Tegan was the sole

witness to a murder of her two male friends who sat in the front seat of a

vehicle.  Throughout the story, Tegan claims not to have seen anything.  Her

younger sister Kelly tries to be a sister to Tegan, but sibling rivalry clouds

the ever-growing separation between them.  When everyone, from the families of

the deceased young men to the townspeople to Tegan’s school friends to the world

(on Internet) accuse Tegan of withholding information from the police, she

astonishes the world by going on a social network and informing everyone that if

the perpetrator of this murder does not come forward, she will report what she

knows to the police the very next day!  In a twist that will surprise everyone,

McClintock gives her main character some spark to end the book.  With careful

reading, there are clues to help the young audience figure out the perpetrator,

but that doesn’t take away from the enjoyment of the book.  The style and

characters are interesting enough to make it a good read even if the reader

solves the crime!  Orca Soundings books tell great stories that can be read in

short periods of time, making fast-paced plot development and characterizations

of the protagonist and antagonist important.  McClintock is clearly one of

Orca’s best writers!          Squaresky, Martha