Who R U Really?

August 1, 2014
A naive 14-year-old longing for a first romance believes she has found it with an online stranger. Thea's longtime friendship with Janie is one of the only things that makes ninth grade tolerable, especially after an embarrassing video makes the rounds. Hungry for connection, she eagerly embraces the online game "Skadi," where she creates an identity and is befriended by "Kitsuneshin," who claims to be 19 and living in Georgia. Janie tries to tell Thea that Kit flirts with another girl when she's offline, but Thea is unwilling to believe it. Her conversations with Kit are light and flirty ("Kitsuneshin: I'll miss u. *tucks u into bed*"), and Thea knows better than to give him her cellphone number or her location...at first. Despite her mother's repeated warnings and vigilance, Thea's entanglement with Kit becomes her focus, as he persuades her that he loves her, hinting that he might attempt suicide without her. Thea's mistakes, while frustrating to encounter, are frighteningly plausible, and the relationships among characters are well-fleshed out, especially between mother and daughter. Kelly's first novel is a suspenseful page-turner with multiple suspects, a little bit of romance, and a strong but not overbearing message. (Thriller. 12-16)

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August 1, 2014

Gr 7 Up-Thea Reid is tired of her parents' draconian rules: no dating until she's 16, no cell phone during family time, no Internet until her homework is finished. On top of all of that, Thea has no privacy. Her parents have the password for her email account, and they do random checks of her mobile and online activity. Ready for some personal space, Thea signs up for an online role-playing game called Skadi. Using the game's chat feature, the teen begins talking regularly with an older boy named Kit. At first they only chat about the game, but as they begin to swap more personal information, Thea realizes that she thinks of Kit as a friend-maybe even more. Her friends and family warn her about the dangers of talking to strangers online, but Thea knows that she can trust Kit. He really loves her. Inspired by her own daughter's terrifying story, Kelly has painted a realistic picture of how a smart girl can get caught up in something dangerous online. While preachy at times, often reading like a cheesy after-school special about "stranger danger" on the Internet, this is a short and suspenseful novel that's guaranteed to give readers goosebumps-particularly as events heat up toward the end. Rather than condemning technology, Kelly focuses on the importance of making smart and safe choices and earning trust. A strong message here is honest communication between parents and children. A good choice for families to read together.-Liz Overberg, Darlington School, Rome, GA

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