One Lie Too Many

July 15, 2017
A fake psychic gets involved in a fake kidnapping.Named Candi by her then-teen mother, Skye has always used her middle name--and disdained her mother's belief in psychic abilities. It's her observational skills that let her give tarot card readings that she hopes will let her afford to live in New York after graduation with her best friend, Drew. But lower-class Skye doesn't have the money, and she doesn't know how to tell solidly middle-class Drew, which is how she gets wrapped up in a plot with Paige, the popular wild-child daughter of a judge. Paige will pretend to be kidnapped, and Skye will tell the police she's had visions of Paige, leading to a ransom demand that's sure to be paid. The plot unravels when Paige's father refuses to cooperate--and then things go fatally wrong. With her lies piling up and her mother drawing more attention to herself, Skye needs to get to the bottom of the affair. When she learns the killer's identity, though, it will change everything. Unfortunately, the murderer's identity comes so far from left field it undermines what would otherwise be an interesting, provocative ending. The class divide in this town in the "boring middle" of Michigan is well-portrayed, though racial and ethnic diversity are only hinted at in passing--Drew is a brown-skinned queer woman--and the text subscribes to the white default. A twisty but ultimately perplexing mystery. (Mystery. 14-18)

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August 1, 2017

Gr 9 Up-Skye Thorn is desperately in need of some quick cash. Her best friend, Drew, is moving to New York after graduation and is under the impression that Skye has been saving up to make the move with her. In reality, Skye has managed to save next to nothing, barely making enough money reading tarot cards to feed herself, but the last thing she wants is to let her friend down. When the mysterious "Pluto" proposes a dangerous moneymaking scheme, Skye agrees, imagining all that money in the bank and her problems solved. Pluto's plan is simple: kidnap the rich daughter of a judge, use Skye's "psychic gifts" to lead the police to the girl, and split the ransom. Skye would save the day and rake in an easy $12,000. But nothing is as it seems in this clever and dark thriller, and soon the situation becomes deadly. As Skye tries to figure out how the perfect crime has gone perfectly wrong, she wrestles with parts of her own identity that she's hidden from herself for years. Though the supporting characters are somewhat two dimensional, many readers will relate to the strong protagonist and her responses to the dissolution of a lifelong friendship, as well as her struggles with money and self-esteem. The twists lead to a satisfying if unsettling ending that will leave teens wondering what they would do in Skye's situation. VERDICT A surprisingly dark thriller that will find a home in libraries where there is a need for strong female protagonists and engrossing mysteries.-Leighanne Law, Scriber Lake High School, WA

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