If the Witness Lied

May 4, 2009
Readers will be unable to put down Cooney's latest thriller. Jack, 15, lives with his two-year-old brother, Tris, and his aunt, while sisters Smithy and Madison are living elsewhere. Taking place on a single day, the novel switches between the viewpoints of the older family members and a teenage neighbor. Early hints point to Tris being a controversial figure, and it is gradually revealed that he is believed to be the cause of his parents' deaths (their mother delayed chemo to give birth to him). But as the day wears on and the siblings reunite, whether or not Tris inadvertently caused their father's death (the parking brake on his Jeep was released and it rolled over him) comes into question. Additionally, a religious undertone has several characters rethinking their relationship with God. Adding to the family's misery, their aunt has arranged for their lives to become a TV “docudrama,” hosted by a man so sleazy he asks Smithy, “What was it like to realize your mother would rather die than bring you up?” Cooney masterfully ratchets up the tension in each scene and delivers fully in the exhilarating conclusion. Ages 12–up.

May 1, 2009
Gr 6-9-Three orphaned teenage siblings, separated by the tragic supposed patricide of their father by their two-year-old brother, reunite a year later to save this same brother from the clutches of their evil aunt, who wants to sell them out on a tell-all television show. The plot involves a lot of aimless meandering around their small Connecticut town, the characters are unremarkable, and the title, of course, gives away the mystery, but, as with all of Cooney's novels, the joy is in readers being more clued in than the hapless characters. Thus every chapter, narrated alternately by each sibling, ends with a successful degree of suspense. Contemporary technologytexting, cell phone videos, digital photography, online bank accountsplays a weighty role; initially the reliance upon them aids each character's unhealthy distance from one another, but by the conclusion, it has become the link between them, creating laughably miraculous resolutions at every turn. A Christian theme pervades as well, as the siblings each question their relationship with God as well as with one another, and inevitably resolve both issues simultaneously. Fans of previous Cooney offerings will enjoy this, but most others can pass on it."Rhona Campbell, Washington, DC Public Library"

Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2009
Grades 7-10 First Jack Fountains mother dies of cancer after postponing treatment so her baby, Tris, could be born. Then his father is run over after two-year-old Tris accidentally moves the parking brake. Shortly after their fathers death, Jacks sisters bailSmithy to boarding school and Madison to her godparents home. But Jack stays at home to watch over Tris, knowing that Aunt Cheryl, now ensconced in the family home, is hardly a mother figure. She then proves it by selling the Fountains tragic story as a reality TV show. On their fathers birthday, the girls are drawn home, and the siblings must put aside their hostilities to salvage their family and save their baby brother. There are many holes in this story, starting with Cheryls ability to get custody, the unquestioning acceptance of Tris ability to move the brake, and the TV producers right to film without his subjects permission. Moreover, the title gives away the twist. Despite all this, readers will be enthralled. This isnt about inconsistencies; its about creepy (if one-dimensional) villains, page-turning action, and kids taking charge.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)