McClintock, Norah. Nowhere to Turn. (A Robin Hunter Mystery)

McClintock, Norah.  Nowhere to Turn. (A Robin Hunter Mystery)                Darby Creek see Lerner                  226p  $27.93       978-0-7613-8316-1         2012      ms/hs   VG-BN           Mystery/Detective                             

Nick disappeared from Robyn’s life a few months ago.  Now he is back and he is in trouble again.  This time Robyn is not sure what happened, but she does know that Nick was a good caretaker for Orion, a large dog who is gentle unless he is being threatened.  Nick had been helping Mr. Schuster with Orion, but when Mr. Schuster suffered a stroke it was up to Nick to continue caring for the dog.

That is when it all happened, and next thing he knew, Nick had been accused of stealing Mr. Schuster’s coin collection.  Who would believe him -- all the evidence pointed to his guilt.  That is when Robyn stepped in and began her investigation of the theft and began taking care of the dog.

 
Can Robyn solve the mystery of the missing coins before anyone gets hurt?  Why is everyone so quick to point the finger at Nick, and what is Nick hiding?
This is a mystery story with a little bit of romance, a dog and a lot of unsolved issues.
Hi-lo, Mystery, Theft-Fiction                                                                                                                                                   --Magna Diaz

 

Weatherly, L.A. Watcher.

Weatherly, L.A.  Watcher.               Stoke Books (Lerner)    51p         $17.00   978-1-78112-107-8         2012  ms               VG-BN      Realistic fiction                                 

This very brief novel is about Sarah, a teen-aged girl who does not understand why her mother left and seems to want no contact with her.  While hacking into her father’s e-mail, Sarah learns that her mother has moved to the next town, and yet she has made no attempt to contact Sarah.   One Saturday Sarah travels to the town and spots her mother’s old car.  Sarah is very angry about her mother.  As she remembers little incidents from her childhood, she visualizes her mother loving her and some great times they shared, but also recalls that her mother would sometimes suddenly become angry, and at those times she was afraid of her mother.  With these very conflicting memories, she confronts her mother with the goal of punishing her, but she finds out that her mother had been in a mental hospital for five years, and had left to prevent herself from hurting Sarah.  Not yet fully understanding all the implications, Sarah and her mother agree to meet occasionally.

A second story line concerns Sarah making a friend.  She has always been a loner and rebuffs the friendly advances of another loner.  The story ends with Sarah transcending her anger at her mother and accepting the possibility of friendship.

This brief text will be satisfying for reluctant readers.

Mental illness-Fiction, Friendship-Fiction                                                                                              --Joan Theal

 

Willey, Margaret. Four Secrets.

Willey, Margaret.  Four Secrets.  Carolrhoda Books see Lerner   277p      $17.95  978-0-7613-8535-6  2012              ms/jr       E-BN     Conflict                                   

Three friends in a juvenile lockup tell their story in three formats: drawings, narrative in the form of a medieval story, and play format. The events leading up to and including their kidnapping and imprisonment of a school bully are suspensefully revealed. Gr 6+.           This is the haunting tale about secrets and those who are bullied taking action against a bully with unpredictable results.  A bond has formed between three talented, high-achieving students who are all being bullied by Chase, the most popular boy in school.  Together they formulate a plan to shut down the bully.  But Chase throws the plan into chaos, and the end result is that the three who were bullied are now in a juvenile detention facility vowing to never reveal what actually happened.  An astute, caring social worker sets out to find the truth.  In journal entries, each character writes in an authentic voice: Nate in a fictional story set in times where gallant men and steadfast friends fight the true fight, Katie in a dialogue suitable for a play, and Renata in exquisite drawings full of hidden meanings. Readers are slowly allowed to glimpse their family life and secrets.  There is so much tension and anticipation of what may be revealed next that the book is impossible to put down.  The pacing is taut, with just enough revealed to keep the reader guessing about what secrets are held by each young person and how quickly the social worker will piece together the events that led to the kidnapping charges.  There is one grammatical error on page 196: “I wanted approach the school”.  The novel includes outstanding writing and plot development, and should be a first choice for middle-school libraries.

Bullying-Fiction, Secrets-Fiction                                                                                                                  --Lois McNicol

 

Abirached, Zeina. A Game for Swallows.

Abirached, Zeina.  A Game for Swallows.                  Graphic Universe see Lerner       188p  $22.00  978-0-7613-8568-4              2012      hs             E-BN       Graphic novel                      

This is the graphic-novel memoir of Zeina Abirached, born in Beirut during the Lebanese Civil War.  With a city divided into Christian and Muslim halves, travel is risky, and one evening her parents fail to return from a visit to the other side.  Supportive neighbors and endless optimism form the basis of this tale of war, friendship and survival.  With features that I am certain will provide endless comparisons to the Persepolis books, this one stands as similar but very different.  Yes, it is also a graphic novel, and yes, it is also black and white, but beyond these similarities it is very different, and yet just as wonderful. Why? Because the story is very different, as Zeina and her brother remain in Beirut while the city is bombed and destroyed.  Residents are trapped indoors and they create maps (well documented in this book) to note where safe neighbors and buildings are located, where to find supplies, how to avoid snipers, and so much more.  This is a loving memoir about neighbors who become family, about how valuable small kindnesses can be, and how survival can be celebrated.      

Abirached, Zeina, 1981–Graphic nonfiction                                                                      --Lynn Fisher