Language: G (6 swears; 0 ‘f'); Mature Content: PG-13 (underage smoking, teenage pregnancy mentioned); Violence: PG-13 (mention of animal cruelty, attempted murder)
BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS - ADVISABLE
APPEALS TO: MANY
14yo Ruby Vossen loves chess, Twinkies, and refusing to be like the rest of her dysfunctional family. Wealth has always made the Vossen family cutthroat, but after her mother and aunt die in a tragic car accident, family relationships go from bad to worse. Ruby’s uncle forbids her from contacting her cousin and best friend, Sterling, and her dad remarries a possible gold-digging murderer. Now Ruby has to share her home with “the steps” – her stepsister and brother. When a call from her cousin sends Ruby digging deeper into family secrets, she is convinced someone is after her family’s fortune. Now, everyone’s life, including her own, might be on the line.
VanDraanen’s mystery/thriller contains a lot of what makes Wendelin Van Draanen’s Sammy Keyes series so successful while appealing to an older audience. The chapters are short and action-packed, perfect for reluctant readers wanting something that will keep them turning pages. Most of the characters are well-written, but almost comically terrible people. Some of their schemes and neglectful behavior are so over-the-top it makes some events or reveals feel unrealistic. Ruby and her chess club friends are by far the most likable characters. You’ll spend the whole book rooting for them. While perhaps not for every school, this is a great book to fill that young-adult-mystery-with-little-to-no mature-content-or-language gap some schools might have.
All of the characters cue as white.
Emily Powell, junior high librarian
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