My Own Worst Frenemy

August 15, 2011
In Reid’s (No Place Safe) first book for teens, which launches the Chanti on the Case series, 15-year-old Chanti Evans is forced to switch from a Denver public school to a private one due to her overprotective mother, an undercover vice cop who insists that Chanti is always at the wrong place at the wrong time. At Langdon Prep, Chanti is an outsider for being on scholarship, and Headmistress Smythe and popular girl Lissa seem determined to get rid of her. Fellow scholarship student Bethanie has a mysterious cash flow, a dedication to social climbing, and many secrets, and Chanti’s ex-best friend (a former gang member) and a drug dealer have bones to pick with her as well. When various items are stolen at school, Chanti and her crush, Marco, are prime suspects with little time to solve the case. The story is fast-paced with snappy dialogue and a solid urban setting, although Chanti’s neurotic analysis of facts can become repetitive. Overall, Reid pens an impressive if slightly overwrought combination of teen drama and hard-boiled police procedural. Ages 14–up.

August 15, 2011

This new mystery series with a multicultural cast stars the canny teenage daughter of a vice cop.

Chanti Evans, a 15-year-old high-school junior, is not exactly looking forward to the start of the new term. While all of her friends will be together at North High, she will be a scholarship student at exclusive Langdon Prep. Her mother, Lana, an undercover vice cop, is increasingly worried about issues in their community and wants Chanti in a better environment. At Langdon, she quickly becomes acquainted with two other new students: Marco Ruiz and Bethanie Larsen. Marco seems nice enough (and very attractive), but it is soon clear that Bethanie has a secret. Chanti can't dwell on that, because a rash of thefts begins in the school, and the unwelcome new additions are immediate suspects. She is a cop's daughter, so she applies the sleuthing skills she has learned from her mother. Just when Chanti thinks the case is solved, though, she becomes embroiled in something more complicated and dangerous than a missing tennis bracelet. Chanti is smart and funny, and this multicultural cast is a welcome addition to the world of teen mysteries. The story is well paced and full of surprises, even if the bad guys don't have much nuance.

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

December 1, 2011

Gr 8-10-Chanti is from a poor section of Denver. She is wise to the ways of the street and has one huge secret: her mother is an undercover cop. When a rumored gang member, MJ, moves to town, she saves Chanti from a fight and they become instant friends. Chanti learns that not all of the rumors about MJ are true, but that doesn't save her from being in the wrong place at the wrong time. This poor choice lands Chanti in trouble, and her mom forces her to transfer to an expensive private school, Landgon, as a scholarship student. This is a whole new world for Chanti, but the crime rate there is the same as at her old school and she is blamed for some petty thefts. Knowing how the law works, the teen tries to solve these mysteries on her own and finds herself in hot water while trying to keep her mother's identity a secret. She learns who her true friends are and that money doesn't solve all of one's problems. Her new friends are not who they seem to be, neither are her old ones from the neighborhood, and somehow they are all connected. Will Chanti learn this before she is framed for crimes she didn't commit? The story seems a bit like the book version of the 1990s movie Boyz in the Hood, but with a girl protagonist and not so R rated.-Jessica Lorentz Smith, Bend Senior High School, OR

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