When You Leave

April 27, 2015
Ropal debuts with a mystery filled with high-running emotions, shifting loyalties, and dirty secrets. Now that her mother has remarried, 17-year-old Cass no longer lives in the rough Frogtown neighborhood of St. Paul, Minn., and she has just started attending a private school where she tries to keep a low profile and maintain her tough reputation with her skateboarder friends. Cass surprises herself by having an intense fling with classmate Cooper, a "typical pretty boy" with whom she seems to have little in common. After Cooper is found brutally murdered in the woods, Cass's friend and fellow skater Gav becomes the prime suspect, and Cass subtly investigates the private-school crowd in search of a defense for him. It can be difficult to keep all the suspects straight, since not all the characters are well-defined, a notable exception being Mattie, Cass's best friend who lost the ability to speak and communicates with gestures and body language. While the conclusion resolves rather quickly, Ropal crafts an engaging, noir-infused drama. Ages 13âup. Agent: Barbara Poelle, Irene Goodman Agency.

February 1, 2015
A skater girl-turned-private school coed investigates the death of her two-week-old hookup in this debut.After her single mom remarries and moves Cass to private school, the teen copes by maintaining her friendships with the male skateboarders from her old neighborhood, including her best friend, Mattie, who has become mute after a bout with throat cancer. In spite of her disdain for St. Bernadette's, Cass falls for Cooper, an attractive peer counselor who has the bad luck to be murdered two weeks after he and Cass meet. When Cass' skater friend Gav is accused of the murder, she is determined to clear his name. After many accusations and much lying and sneaking out, Cass ends up getting her biggest clue from a dream, and the murderer is no one readers ever could have guessed. While the story has some satisfying moments, the text is littered with cliches and laughably clunky sentences like "Reality stroked my stomach like a hot poker." The dialogue is awkward, the secondary characters are hard to distinguish from one another, and it's difficult to believe that independent Cass would so easily fall for a "[t]ypical pretty boy" who woos her with phrases like "I like you....You have a virtual, I don't know, rainbow of emotions without even talking." The most interesting character by far is Mattie, who carries a torch for Cass and communicates with finger taps and shoulder shrugs. Their slowly unfolding romance is the engine that drives this otherwise uninspired mystery. One great big whodontcare. (Mystery. 11-14)

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March 1, 2015

Gr 9 Up-Romance and a murder mystery intermingle in this gritty and engaging novel. Cass is a high school student, struggling to fit in at a fancy private school. Before her father's desertion and her mother's remarriage, Cass lived in a low-income neighborhood and hung out at the skate park. Her best friends are a group of boys who include Mattie, Gav, and Franklin. She's especially fond of Mattie-he lost his voice to cancer nine years ago, but they're so close that she can tell exactly what he's thinking. Now Cass is a preppy St. Bernadette's student by day, trying to blend in and remain unnoticed. When she falls for Cooper, a rich, charming boy, though, her old friends clash with her new love interest. Cooper is brutally murdered, and Gav is arrested for the crime. Cass is positive that he is innocent. She decides to play detective at St. Bernadette's, uncovering a complicated mix of friendships, love triangles, and dark secrets. As her investigation continues, she puts herself and her friends at risk to find the truth. Teens will sympathize with Cass and find the mystery compelling, but some of the characters-Mattie and Cass's mother-don't seem to be fully developed. The protagonist is reeling from her father's decision to leave the family and fearful of losing Mattie, too, after his bout with cancer. However, her relationships with the other characters often take a backseat to the mystery elements. There are plenty of twists and turns on the way to an enjoyable conclusion. VERDICT Readers will find much to like in this fast-paced and well-written story.-Miranda Doyle, Lake Oswego School District, OR

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2015
Grades 9-12 Skater chick Cass has a survival strategy for getting through her sophomore year at her new, preppy high school: blend into the background and don't make any friends. Unfortunately, her plan has already been compromised by an unexpected kiss from popular rich boy Cooper. The two start a secret relationship that's cut short when Cooper's body is discovered behind the school. Cass' world turns topsy-turvy as she wades through her emotions, experiences tensions at school and at home, and tries to solve the murder. The strength of her attachment to Cooper isn't quite believable, considering they only dated for two weeks, but ties in with her overriding fear of being abandoned by those she loves. Cass' dynamic with her guy skater friends, on the other hand, is far more credible and complex. Ropal builds tension nicely, and while the plot's biggest reveals may not come as complete surprises, there are definite twists that readers won't see coming. Issues of class, prejudice, and trust are at the fore, making this a whodunit for the introspective teen.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)