Dark Eyes

March 19, 2012
A Russian mobster out for vengeance. A distraught adoptive mother who takes time from her high-flying real estate business to go to the morgue. A hardnosed cop admiring the street skills of a private-school kid gone rogue. These cameos are sketched with skill and conviction, but the protagonist of screenwriter Richter's first YA novel, 16-year-old Wallis Stoneman, is more of a puzzle. Independent and fierce, Wallis has willingly given up a sheltered life on the Upper West Side to join a tight crew of homeless youth who rummage for food and clothing on the streets of Harlem. Obsessed with the search for her birth mother, Yalena Mayakova, who she has never known, Wallis becomes involved with ruthless criminals who will lead her toward discovering her true origins, but will also destroy those she loves. Despite Richter's well-paced action sequences and the book's cinematic scope, Wallis is not an entirely convincing teenage heroine, strongly reminiscent of characters like La Femme Nikita and Lisbeth Salander, but lacking in authenticity and psychological depth. Noir homages may also be lost on the intended audience. Agent: Kari Stuart, ICM. Ages 12âup.

January 15, 2012
A drop-dead-gorgeous heroine, evil dudes with guns and a perilous race through the streets of New York City make for a page-turning read. When sassy, streetwise runaway Wally (nee Valentina) Stoneman's fake ID is lost as a result of the brutal murder of a friend, she comes face to face with the mystery of her lost Russian heritage, her missing mother and priceless jewels that have ruthless thugs chasing her up and down the streets of Manhattan. Richter is a screenwriter, and the pages of his first novel for teens turn quickly. Readers will feel as though they are watching a fast-paced action movie, with its multitude of daring escapes, witty one-liners, touch of passion and slew of dead bodies. The characterizations feel more stereotypical than original, but it works. Readers will recognize many of them: the beautiful heroine, the do-gooder cop, the bad boy, the slimy murderer and his sidekick. Action takes precedence over literary quality, but the chase sequences are so slickly written that readers will most likely not notice the novel's staccato sentence structure and wooden dialogue, or they'll forgive it anyway. What they will notice is Richter's scenically keen sense of New York City geography as Wally and her cadre race back from Coney Island to SoHo to the Upper West Side fleeing for their lives. Full of thrills and screaming for a sequel. (Thriller. 14 & up)

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May 1, 2012

Gr 7-10-Wallis Stoneman seemed to have everything. Rescued from an orphanage in Russia by wealthy Americans, she was whisked off to live in glamorous Manhattan. But by the age of 16, she has opted to live on the streets with other runaways, attempting to shun her former life. An encounter with a Brighton Beach shopkeeper from whom she is trying to obtain a fake ID opens an unimaginable door to her past: he hands her an envelope with documents, a gemstone, and a letter from her birth mother. The path Wally takes to find out about her early life and to reunite with the woman who gave her away 11 years earlier is dangerous without her knowing it, because a criminal is also on her mother's trail. The teen is trained in martial arts and the use of handguns, equipping her to go toe-to-toe with a man so evil that he was sentenced to life in prison. He is also her father. This debut novel glamorizes life on the streets and stereotypes street kids. It has an "and then this happened, and then that happened" feel, and, as each event unfolds, it is more and more difficult for readers to suspend disbelief.-Melyssa Kenney, Parkville High School, Baltimore, MD

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from February 15, 2012
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* Angry and disillusioned, yet loved and privileged, 16-year-old Wallis Stoneman is living on the street. While Wally has always known that she was adopted from a Russian orphanage, she has recently stumbled upon an envelope of information suggesting not only that her biological mother is alive but also nearby, and Wally is determined to find her. Armed with survival skills, Wally and her street family fight not just to find Yalena Mayakova (her mother) but also for their very lives. Hollywood screenwriter Richter has entered the YA market with a bang. Riffing on his cinematic understanding of how setting and pacing can drive characters' thoughts and actions, and his talent for scattering clues that lead readers to off-base conclusions, Richter has created a hardscrabble, violent world that is juxtaposed with Wally's other world of wealth and serenity. The dichotomy between the adults that Wally and her crew interact with on the street and those from her nonstreet life is stark as well. This novel is not for the faint of heart. Its violence, complex characters, and international espionage are similar to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2008) but without the sexual violence or innuendo. The conclusion is realistic, sad, and violent, but it is somewhat upbeat only because Wally is. Let's hope we see more of her and author Richter soon.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)