Rice, Luanne. The Secret Language of Sisters.

Rice, Luanne.  The Secret Language of Sisters.  Scholastic Press/Point  2016  336p  $18.99  ISBN 978-0-545-83955-6      ms/hs  Realistic fiction        VG 

High-school junior Roo stops to take a few photographs on the way to pick up her impatient younger sister, Tilly, photography being her passion. Shortly after that, Roo has a near-fatal accident as she texts her sister that she is a few minutes away. In the hospital, Roo has a stroke and the doctors believe she is in a coma. Tilly eventually figures out that her sister is able to communicate through eye movements, leading to a diagnosis of locked-in syndrome. Roo is paralyzed but can hear and see. She is transferred to a Boston hospital where a young English doctor creates a computer program that allows her to communicate and continue with her photography. As Roo faces a new future that is not what she imagined it would be at an Ivy League university, her family struggles to adjust as well. Roo and her boyfriend Newton deal with their already fragile relationship, and Tilly finds herself suddenly drawn to Newton in a romantic way. Isabel, Roo’s best friend, shares the news with Tilly that it was her text that Roo was responding to when she crashed. Once this news comes to light, Tilly is frequently blamed, by herself and others, because she shouldn’t have been texting someone she knew was driving. She is only told a few times that the responsibility was Roo’s to avoid texting while driving. The story has a relatively happy ending and is a good addition to a collection to reinforce the “don’t text and drive” mantra.  

Summary: High-school junior Roo nearly dies in a car accident while on her way to pick up her young sister as she texts her that she is nearly there.    

Sisters-Fiction, Automobile accidents-Fiction                                                                     –Stephanie Pennucci

Vande Velde, Vivian. Deadly Pink.

Vande Velde, Vivian.  Deadly Pink.  Houghton Mifflin/ Harcourt Brace    276p  $16.99  978-0-547-73850-5  2012    jr/sr   VG      Fantasy   

Vivian Vande Velde is well-known for her successful teen fantasy novels.  Deadly Pink takes place in a virtual reality game.  Grace Pizelli must enter the virtual world of the reality game to retrieve her suicidal sister Emily, before the game becomes reality. 

Initially, Grace’s task appears straightforward.  Put on the V-R gear, enter the game, knock some sense into Emily’s head, exit the game, re-unite with Emily in “real” life.  The whole experience should only take moments.  Instead, Grace must enter into the spirit of the game and defeat characters, outwit the programming, and so on (including a dragon!).  As pink and girly as the fantasy world initially appears, readers are always aware that suicide is an integral theme of this story.

The topic of suicide is addressed appropriately, and repercussions of suicide are discussed.  Suicide is not presented as an acceptable choice in this book.  Still, it is soon apparent that Emily has kept the dark side of her personality well-hidden behind a happy, upbeat facade.  Even though Grace is Emily’s younger sister, she handles a challenging situation with surprising maturity and strength.

While this is an entertaining read, it lacks Vande Velde’s trademark whimsy and clever dialogue.  The most memorable element of this story is exposed mid-novel, in the loving relationship that the sisters share.  Readers who enjoy the novel will be pleased that there are several others by this author that also feature Rasmussen virtual-reality games (User Unfriendly and Heir Apparent), both of which are more polished and entertaining novels than Deadly Pink.

Mystery–Fiction, Sisters-Fiction                        --Hilary Welliver