Middleton,
Dana. Open If You Dare. Macmillan/Feiwel & Friends 2017 279p. $16.99 ISBN 978-1-250-08572-6 ms/jr Mystery-Suspense VG-BN
A reader
makes a journey when reading, and young teenaged girls will definitely enjoy
the journey of three protagonists, stars of this new book by Dana
Middleton. A book of note needs to be
special, exuding a certain element of warmth, or drama, or entertainment, as it
were. The strength of this book of note
lies in the way three girls change as they navigate their final summer together
before Rose moves to England with her family and Ally goes to a different
middle school than Birdie, the story’s narrator. It is plain to see that Birdie is scared of
being alone. But characters need to
demonstrate growth, and in this case, all three of them experience new changes
that will shape them as they move forward in this world, especially
Birdie. Rose is a violinist. She is in love with Romeo, a classmate who
happens to be in love with someone else.
Birdie is keeping a big secret from Rose, which is that Romeo loves
Birdie. Ally is a baseball star pitcher,
undeterred by her female status in a man’s world. Quite surprisingly, she inadvertently allows
her brother to influence her negatively when she overhears him ranting about
his lack of success and his sister’s shining
talent.
The
incident that launches the plot happens right away, when the three girls find a
wire around the base of a tree, a wire that they unravel to reveal a hidden
box. Inside that box is a mysterious
letter whose words will become Birdie’s obsession
throughout the novel: "If you’re reading this, I’m already dead.” All the while she tries to figure out who was murdered and by whom, the
three girls play out the dramas in each of their lives. Rose must reconcile her unhappiness at the
move to England. Ally must find out how
to channel the angst that she feels with her ever-deteriorating pitching, and Birdie finds
conflicts with her family, her friends and herself, especially when she is stymied
by two more clues she discovers when trying to solve the mystery of the missing
girls. Middleton knows the true voice of
an early teen, she crafts a seamless plot, and her characters share conflicts
that are experienced by all of us.
Summary:
When Rose has to move to England with her family and Ally’s baseball pitching turns sour, Birdie tries to help both. At the same time, she comes to terms with her own feelings about being
alone as she embarks on her journey to middle school. A mysterious letter sets the three on a
crime-solving mission that keeps them guessing.
Friendship-Fiction,
Murder-Fiction --Martha Squaresky
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