Rosebush

November 1, 2010
Jaffe (Bad Kitty) has honed her craft with several adult thrillers, and that's a big benefit for a story that is superficially identical to a slew of recent YA novels featuring innocent heroines sucked into the popularity trap by rich girls with evil hearts. Jaffe, too, presents the de rigueur litany of designer names and cliquey cruelties, and there's no surprise when the villain is unveiled. Where this story distinguishes itself is in character development. Jane Freeman is a believable adolescent, trivial and thoughtless most of the time, but capable of insight and empathy when she stops to think. And trapped in an ICU bed after a near-fatal hit and run, Jane has a lot of time to do just that. She also seems to have company, as eerie threats from a "secret admirer" appear in her hospital room. Jaffe fully develops the evolution of Jane's situation and the piecemeal return of her memories after her trauma-induced amnesia fades. Even when adults around Jane question her sanity, readers will continue to trust this character who has been so thoroughly and sympathetically unfolded. Ages 12–up.

October 15, 2010

Fear and anticipation stalk this psychological thriller as popular, pretty Jane tries to recover from a hit-and-run accident while wondering which of her beloved friends is trying to murder her. All of Jane's friends are pretty—in fact every young character seems to have stepped straight out of Vogue—and most are super-wealthy. Jane's fears come across as somewhat more realistic than her friends do, however, as she copes with threatening phone calls, dire messages written on mirrors and frightening gifts delivered to her in her hospital room. Plausible red herrings abound, along with the creeping suspicion that Jane might be imagining things. Jaffe manages the suspense marvelously while also unfolding Jane's emotional life, especially her estrangement from her mother and her hidden knowledge of the death of another friend. The friends alter before readers' eyes as they learn ever more about them through the veil of the unreliable narrator, who, as her hospital orderly observes, is a lousy judge of character. Cleverly written with a finger on the pulse of the target audience—a winner. (Thriller. 14 & up)

(COPYRIGHT (2010) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

April 1, 2011

Gr 7 Up-As one of the Three Must-kateers, "because whatever they did, everyone else must follow," Jane is super popular in her suburban New Jersey high school. She has the perfect friends, boyfriend, and life. But not everyone loves her. One night, she is found nearly dead in a rosebush after being run down by a car. Waking up in the hospital, Jane doesn't remember a thing from the time of her accident. Now, she has to figure out what happened and whether someone really is out to get her, or if she is just going crazy. Part psychological thriller, part chick lit, this page-turner is filled with quirky characters who are easy to love and hate. There are also a few racy scenes and some references to drug use. A suspenseful modern twist on the classic murder mystery, this novel is a quick and enjoyable read.-Jessie Spalding, Tempe Public Library, AZ

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2011
Grades 8-12 Beautiful, popular Jane Freeman awakens in the hospital with no memory of what happened the night she was struck by a hit-and-run driver. Thrown by the collision into a rosebush, Jane is unable to move or speak. As mobility and memories begin to return, Jane realizes that someone has tried to kill her, and it has to be someone she knows well. The fact that no one believes the threats she is receiving complicates the thorny puzzle. Compulsively readable, the novel bristles with red herrings, leading readers down one tempting plot branch after another, each one blooming with plausibility. The characters are skillfully cultivated through flashbacks, and the insecure, people-pleasing Jane grows believably as she takes on the mystery. Jaffe has an especially deft hand with teen dialogue, and clues are organically revealed as each friend visits the hospital room. The motivation of the perpetrator is a stretch, but the revelation provides rich soil for discussion. A sure bet for teen mystery fans.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)