Creeping with the Enemy

June 1, 2012

Gr 8-10-Chanti Evans is just your run-of-the-mill teenager-she's got friend drama, boy drama, school drama. . .and she's an amateur detective. Following in the footsteps of her mom, an undercover cop, Chanti has all the skills a successful teen sleuth needs-sharp eyes and ears and her finger on the pulse of her neighborhood and its residents. This funny and captivating book continues her story after she nabs the bad guy in My Own Worst Frenemy (Kensington, 2011). This time she's crushing on Marco Ruiz, whose parents are a little wary of her and her crime-solving ways. Plus, a new friend seems to be keeping a lot of secrets, which intrigues Chanti to no end. After she and Bethanie are witnesses to a suspicious robbery, and Bethanie is suddenly being wooed by Cole, who just happened to be at the bodega while it was being robbed, the teen's detective radar is on high alert. Chanti is an engaging and well-developed character; she's full of humor and spunk, and readers will definitely want to know if she gets her man-the bad one and the good one. All of her friends, foes, loves, and neighbors round out this intriguing and suspenseful mystery. A great choice for those who like a bit of romance and suspense in their mysteries and a lot of spirit in their detectives.-Traci Glass, Eugene Public Library, OR

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2012
Grades 8-12 Fifteen-year-old Chanti Evans knows from the start of this stand-alone Langdon Prep novel that the robbery at her local bodega was not a typical holdup. She is suspicious of Cole, a Ralph Lauren model look-alike who shouldn't have even been in her crime-ridden Denver neighborhood yet managed to swoop in and save her best friend, Bethanie. With an undercover cop for a mother, Chanti can't help but investigate the robbery and Cole's backgroundit's in her blood. She also wonders if there may be more to Bethanie's secretive family, which recently came into wealth and moved to the city. When Bethanie is kidnapped by Cole and a witness in the trial of a crime boss goes missing, Chanti uses her neighborhood connections and keen intuition to piece together the clues. The first-person dialogue is fresh and casual, and the fast-paced mystery is brought to life by an interesting multiracial cast. Look for more of this sleuthing with sass as the series continues.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)