Full Ride

October 14, 2013
Becca Jones’s father has been convicted of a Bernie Madoff–like financial scheme, and after he goes to jail, Becca and her mother flee from Georgia to small-town Ohio, hoping for an anonymous fresh start. Three years later, Becca is a senior in high school with plenty of friends, straight As, and college dreams. Becca’s mother is terrified that someone will discover their secret, but when Becca learns about a mysterious scholarship—a full ride for one student at her high school—she’s determined to get it. The presence of Becca’s father, although he’s absent from her day-to-day existence, is strongly felt through Becca’s questions about his crimes and lies, as well as the fact that she still loves him. Haddix (Game Changer) takes up a relevant topic for teens—the process of applying for college—and brings it to a new level of anxiety. The disastrous turns that Becca’s senior year takes will rivet readers and perhaps even alleviate some stress about their own (presumably scandal-free) application processes. Ages 12–up. Agent: Tracey Adams, Adams Literary.

October 1, 2013
High school senior Becca's father is an infamous criminal, now in prison--a secret she's gone to great lengths to hide. After his conviction and the resulting destruction of their previously comfortable lifestyle three years ago, Becca and her mother went into hiding, aided by her father's attorney. Now, she's a senior facing all the usual worries of competitive, college-bound teens. She's terrified to reveal her true identity yet convinced she can't get financial aid without doing so. The devil of this tale is in the details. Her mother has told Becca they're hiding to avoid the clamoring press. When it becomes apparent that's not plausible, a second explanation emerges, involving a large, predatory corporation searching for them; this is provided too little objective evidence to heighten the sense of danger. In her believable first-person, present-tense narration, Becca investigates and discovers a third explanation for their perceived peril. Unfortunately, each new version of the threat undermines the previous one, never increasing the sense of menace and ultimately steering the tale away from the true, fully credible angst of many teens' senior-year experiences. A secondary plotline involving a full-ride scholarship devolves into a rather bizarre--and implausible--farce. With the myriad sources of stress and the remarkable suspense senior year can provide, it's too bad Becca's journey ends up feeling rather contrived and a bit trite. (Fiction. 11-18)

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November 1, 2013

Gr 8 Up-When Becca's father gets arrested for embezzlement, the teen and her mother flee to a small town in Ohio in order to start their lives over in anonymity and with little money. Three years later, when it's time to apply to college, things become far more complicated. Becca's mother finally tells her that their lives have been threated by those who want to get back at her father, and that they are in constant danger. By filling out anything online, applying for scholarships, or doing any research, Becca is putting them at greater risk, and even though she desperately wants to go to college, she has to consider the consequences of so much exposure. Because this story is told from Becca's point of view, readers get inside her head and can easily sympathize with her lonely experience. Even though she makes a few good and loyal friends, she can't be honest with them. A tense, slightly claustrophobic mood is developed throughout the suspenseful story. Plot twists help to move the narrative along, but they also strain credibility at times. Still, readers who are able to overlook a few improbabilities will grab on and enjoy the ride.-Carrie Shaurette, Dwight-Englewood School, Englewood, NJ

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2013
Grades 7-12 After 14-year-old Becca's father is convicted of a clutch of financial crimes that attracted national attention, she and her mother flee from their Georgia home to Ohio in search of a new life of anonymity. It'll be like our own private witness protection program, her mother promises. And for three years it seems to be just that. But now Becca is a senior in high school, and, while applying for a full-ride scholarship to college, she inadvertently reveals the truth of her identity. She quickly realizes that she has put her and her mother's lives in danger; they might become the truest victims of her father's crimes. But not everything is what it seems, and there are surprises ahead for Becca and the reader. Haddix's latest thriller seems overlong at times, and Becca's endless agonizing is occasionally tedious. That said, however, the premise is ingenious and well-realized, and the mounting suspense will hold readers' attention to the satisfying conclusion. Haddix's many fans will be pleased.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)