The Row

July 15, 2016
A girl learns a devastating truth.Riley Beckett's father has been in prison for over 10 years. Convicted of murder and sentenced to death, he still maintains his innocence. But after every possible appeal falls through, Riley visits him and her father divulges a terrible truth: he did it. He's as guilty as they come. Reeling from the revelation and desperate for clarity, Riley searches for the truth about her family's past even as a copycat murder seems to throw doubt on her father's conviction. The resulting mystery is a tad convoluted and ultimately a bit of a letdown, as readers will have little trouble connecting the dots. A distracting relationship with hot Latino teen Jordan Vega feels set up largely to provide drama via Jordan's police-chief father. The couple follows the clues and goes through the mystery motions, but the kicker is they don't end up solving the case--it's largely done for them. The murderer's motives for doing the deed and coming clean make sense, but that's no substitute for a well-earned "mystery solved." This decision hamstrings the novel, reframing Riley's quest for truth as aimless flailing by an understandably distraught teenage girl. Riley's race and ethnicity go unmentioned; absent markers to the contrary, readers will likely assume she is white. A great hook with deeply unsatisfying follow-through.(Mystery. 14-18)

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September 1, 2016

Gr 8 Up-When Riley was six, her father was sentenced to death for the murders of three women. Eleven years of appeals later, Riley has never doubted he was wrongly convicted-until he admits his guilt to her during a prison visit. Is he telling a white lie to help her move forward, or is he finally coming clean? With weeks left until his execution, Riley embarks on a mission to finally confront the truth of these murders and hopefully exonerate her father. Assisted by Jordan, a boy whose family is also connected to the atrocities, she unearths family secrets and as many hints to her dad's guilt as to his innocence. Amid the high-stakes plot twists, the author keeps Riley and Jordan grounded in the dark reality of their lives, showing Riley's despair and fear as well as her admirable tenacity. Johansson has established herself as a go-to writer of emotionally resonant teen thrillers. VERDICT This timely story, evocative of the Serial podcast and Netflix's Making a Murderer, will also appeal to reluctant readers and fans of April Henry and Barry Lyga.-Ann Foster, Saskatoon Public Library, Canada

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