The Precious Dreadful

December 1, 2017

Gr 9 Up-Sixteen-year-old Teddi Alder is beginning what promises to be a lazy summer when life decides to pile on the drama. At SummerTeens, a library-sponsored writing group, Teddi's fiction journaling drifts toward the autobiographical-uncovering in the process fragmented childhood memories that she can't quite piece together of a long-lost friend, Corey. Teddi is also navigating a tumultuous relationship with her long-time crush-turned-boyfriend, Aidan, whose mercurial moods tend toward frighteningly intense anger, while reluctantly developing feelings for fellow SummerTeen Ed. Oh, and she's seeing a ghost. The mystery Parlato promises readers as to just what dark memories Teddi has buried deep within her subconscious will propel teens through the first half of the novel. But this is a difficult task given how the author writes the main character-with a voice that rings more or less false throughout but is particularly egregious during the first third of the novel (no one, teenager or adult, uses phrases like, "my alarm's about to bleat"). Overall, however, the blend of supernatural and psychological horror is unsuccessful. There are a lot of mixed messages regarding the ghost, and readers will finish the novel without clarity on if it was meant to be merely a hallucination of Teddi's mind or an actual metaphysical manifestation. Self-harm, alcoholism, drug addiction, and abuse are featured within. VERDICT There are better mysteries of this type available. Not recommended.-Ann Santori, Cook Memorial Public Library, Libertyville, IL

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2017
A white teenage girl is haunted by disturbing, repressed memories of a childhood friend.Looking to stave off the boredom of summer vacation, Teddi Alder joins the local library's teen writing group. Her life becomes unexpectedly complicated by both a new romance with white, crushworthy Aidan and the mysterious appearance of a little girl whom only Teddi sees. Once she begins writing, memories of her long-lost childhood friend Corey seep into her consciousness and her writing. Although she had always thought that Corey's family moved away when they were young, she discovers, to her horror, that he went missing when he was 7 and that the search for him was soon called off because he was "a couple shades too dark to matter much." She spends her days and sleepless nights haunted by the twin mysteries of the ghost girl and Corey while juggling an increasingly dysfunctional relationship with Aidan. The writing process helps her to work through her repressed memories of the dark and violent events leading up to Corey's disappearance, prompting her to question how much her mother knew about what happened. The dialogue among Teddi and her friends isn't always convincing, and the suspenseful arc of this story is unbalanced by a love triangle that develops erratically and feels out of place in the context of the overall plot.An uneven mix of paranormal mystery and realistic fiction. (Paranormal mystery. 14-18)

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January 1, 2018
Grades 9-12 Teddi's vague memories of childhood misadventures with a boy named Corey return with ominous vengeance when she starts journaling as part of a library-based summer writing class. Teddi craves understanding of the boy's fate and dreads uncovering terrifying memories. Her alcoholic mother refuses to discuss it. Meanwhile, Teddi's love life takes off when a handsome barista suddenly finds her irresistible. The summer unfolds at a leisurely pace, with the drama of her stuttering romance alternating with Teddi's quest to solve the mystery in the past. Other characters include Teddi's best friend, Willow, who is feisty and protective of Teddi when the handsome barista misbehaves, and a quirky library worker who serves as an alternate love interest. Parlato's writing is snappy and quip-laden, sure to draw in some teen readers. His descriptions of Teddi's dog, an ever-present peekapoo, are particularly endearing. Though the suspense surrounding the revelation of Corey's fate is stretched a bit thin, thriller fans who like a dark twist should enjoy this one.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)