Shackled

May 1, 2015
Six years after her friend Tara disappeared from a shopping mall during a game of hide-and-seek, prickly, anxious Pelly thinks she spots her buying coffee with her captor. Pelly, who has an unnamed mental illness, goes to online rather than traditional school and works as a barista. When she serves coffee to the girl she thinks is Tara, she thinks she sees the girl mouth the words "Help me." Pelly calls the police, but they are unconvinced by her story, and Pelly instead begins following leads on her own. With the help of David, a geeky fellow barista, she tracks the man she believes is Tara's captor to Canyon City, a town two hours away from them. The story is short and fast-moving, and suspense builds quickly as Pelly puts herself in increasingly dangerous situations with only half-baked plans for getting out of them. Pelly's anxiety and strategies for managing her mental health-cutting herself, snapping a rubber band, smoking-are well-integrated into her character; this is a book about a person not an issue. David's patience in the face of Pelly's mood swings and many requests for rides, money, and other support is sometimes difficult to believe, but the relationship the two build is compelling nonetheless. Simple but suspenseful. (Suspense. 12-18)

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July 1, 2015

Gr 9 Up-This psychological thriller follows Pelly, a 16-year-old girl whose world was shattered when her best friend was kidnapped years earlier, presumed long dead. The trauma has left her stunted, unable to move on, and marked by panic attacks and a habit of cutting herself to relieve the pressure. While Pelly is working at a coffee shop, an older man walks in with a girl in tow-a girl who resembles her best friend Tara, who was kidnapped years earlier, who mouths the words "help me." After police and loved ones tell her she cannot have seen her friend, Pelly questions her own sanity and her paranoia deteriorates her mental state. She cannot let it go and obtains clues about the man's identity, which lead her into a claustrophobic, unexpectedly charged third act. The prose is tight and the dialogue lends emotion to the character's mental state, properly complementing this plot-driven setup. Leveen effectively balances the line between gritty crime story and psychological thriller, while not drifting into areas too lascivious or gory for a YA audience. VERDICT A chilling tale of suspense that will capture readers of every stripe.-Brian Hoff, Elmwood Park High School, IL

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