Scared Little Rabbits

October 1, 2019
A summer coding competition ends in tragedy. Shy, 16-year-old coding whiz Nora Weinberg is a ball of nerves when she arrives at New England's venerable Winthrop Academy for the Summer Maker Program, which showcases the brightest young talents in coding and culminates in a cash prize. Nora feels constantly overlooked and is dying for someone to notice her. Luckily, she has InstaLove, an augmented reality social app. When InstaLove pings on the handsome Maddox Drake, Nora is instantly smitten--and she's thrilled when he asks her to help him tweak InstaLove's programming using an InSight Visor, a type of AR glasses. Unfortunately, Maddox has a long history with the beautiful and very rich Eleanor Winthrop, who makes it clear she doesn't want Maddox anywhere near Nora. But Maddox is falling for Nora, and Eleanor is hiding a secret hinted at through entries in her online journal. Cue the virtual and IRL shenanigans. Nora's constant self-deprecation grates, her romance with Maddox is underdeveloped, and side characters mostly exist to service the plot. The disappearance of a student leads to a muddled denouement that fails to shock. Minor diversity can be found in the supporting cast, but most main characters appear to be white, and Nora briefly mentions her Jewish heritage. Heavy on angst, light on suspense. (Mystery. 13-18)

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October 15, 2019
Grades 9-12 Nora is excited to be attending maker camp at Winthrop Academy. After hoping to find solace among fellow nerds, she is disappointed to find catty competitors instead, including ringleader Eleanor Winthrop, who dubs Nora Lowercase, because there can't be two Eleanors. To frustrate matters further, Eleanor's boyfriend, Maddox, shows interest in Nora and recruits her to help with their Maker Fair project?an update to the InstaLove app that will allow players to add augmented reality features to the game. When Eleanor winds up dead, the evidence points to Nora, and she must prove her innocence?but instead she gets pulled into a web of secrets. Why was Maddox pretending to be Eleanor's boyfriend even though they broke up? Was Eleanor's death an accident or murder? Geiger's thriller has an interesting coding focus that ties into the big mystery. While the first two acts, full of mean-girl drama, may be a slog for some, the epic murder-mystery finale is well worth the wait.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)