Fake Plastic World

May 1, 2020

Gr 10 Up-This sequel to Fake Plastic Girl picks up right where the first left off, but easily stands alone. Child star Eva-Kate Kelly's death was as dramatic as her life: a single stab wound with a dagger and a tumble into the canal was her final act. Justine Childs has only known Eva-Kate for a few weeks, but the relationship (friends, plus a little more) was intense, and Justine was living with Eva-Kate when she died. When she finds out her mother has been Eva-Kate's therapist for years, Justine suspects she knows more than she is letting on about the murder. A guess at a password to her mother's filing cabinet works, and Justine is horrified. But before she can investigate further, a witness comes forward who puts Justine at the scene, and her fingerprints on the dagger. She's arrested, and the book takes an able turn from unrealistic teen fluff to riveting courtroom drama. Undeveloped minor characters abound, giving the mystery texture as well as red herrings; all of them drink, take drugs, and party with abandon, and all of them have the means and motive to murder Eva-Kate. VERDICT A fast-moving plot with a fun twist that will appeal to fans of series like "Pretty Little Liars." Teens will gobble this up-it's suspenseful, funny, and disturbing.-Mandy Laferriere, Fowler Middle School, Frisco, TX

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2020
The price of fame can be lethal in the edgy follow-up to 2019's Fake Plastic Girl. Sixteen-year-old Eva-Kate Kelly was stabbed only once with a ceremonial Wiccan dagger, and her body was found in the canal just outside her Venice, California, home. Unfortunately, Justine Childs' fingerprints are all over the athame, and she's arrested for murder. Justine's parents hire a brilliant defense attorney, but while she's awaiting trial, Justine decides to do a little investigating of her own, hoping to clear her name and desperate to know what really happened to Eva-Kate. There are more than a few people with motives for murder, but all Justine really learns is that Eva-Kate was hiding even more dark secrets than she suspected. For the assistant district attorney, Eva-Kate and Justine's twisted tale of mutual obsession is the perfect storm, and the hard-drinking, pill-popping Justine's history of mental illness works against her. Even worse, though she's only 16, she's to be tried as an adult. Eva-Kate had more fame than she could handle, and Justine desperately wanted just a bit of it for herself, but does that mean she was capable of murder? First-person narrator Justine, who steadily falls apart without Eva-Kate's attention to sustain her, is the perfect vessel for Lisbon's exploration of how tightly fame and infamy are entwined, and the courtroom scenes crackle with tension. Main characters are white by default. A fast-paced sequel with a few killer twists. (Mystery. 14-18)

COPYRIGHT(2020) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

May 1, 2020
Grades 9-12 This thrilling sequel to Lisbon's Fake Plastic Girl (2019) digs further into the murder of former child star Eva-Kate Kelly, who changed Justine's life by drawing her into the drama and chaos of a celebrity lifestyle. With the cops now thinking that Justine may be the killer, her only choice is to help find the truth. Her mother's return to town adds an extra strain to her life?the two have a deep tension dating back to Justine's childhood?as well as another layer to the mystery. Every new turn draws Justine further into the madness of Eva-Kate's personal life and closer to the truth about her death. The story, told from Justine's perspective, explores her emotional upheaval, allowing readers to follow along as she navigates her own guilt and the impact Eva-Kate had on her life, even as she struggles against the media frenzy and her bickering parents. A suspenseful and surprising mystery from beginning to end, this clever, modern thriller will captivate.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)