We Know It Was You

August 1, 2016
This convoluted first book in the Strange Truth series follows teenage outcasts Benny Flax and Virginia Leeds, the sole members of Winship Academy’s Mystery Club, as they investigate the suspicious death of a classmate, Brittany Montague. When a school-mascot-costume-clad Brittany flees the Friday night football game, runs into the woods, and plunges off a bridge into a ravine, everyone assumes that it’s a suicide. Benny and Virginia are dubious, though, and while the police search Atlanta’s Chattahoochee River for a corpse, the detecting duo unearths evidence suggesting that Brittany was murdered. There’s a lot more going on at Winship Academy than meets the eye, and Benny and Virginia soon realize that unless they catch the killer, no one is safe. Thrash (Honor Girl) squanders an intriguing setup with cartoonish characters, preposterous plot twists, and an unsatisfying conclusion. Any warmth or depth conferred by Benny and Virginia’s unlikely friendship is undermined by the flippancy with which Thrash tackles such topics as stalking, rape, death, and child pornography. Ages 14–up. Agent: Stephen Barr, Writers House.

July 15, 2016
An elite Atlanta prep school harbors shocking and deadly secrets. At Winship Academy, the Mystery Club has only two members: Benny, one of the only Jewish students in the entire school, and gossipmongering Virginia, a boarder in the school's crumbling dorms. When popular, blonde Brittany plummets off a bridge, the Mystery Club is on the case. What they discover, however, is a disquieting web of murder, obsession, and sex crimes. Rape and child pornography are breezily discussed and seem to be given almost no gravitas; the perpetrator of the rape and murder faces no punishment, even after Benny and Virginia deduce who did it. Benny concludes, "What the world needed more than justice was truth" instead of reporting it to the authorities. Even more frustratingly, among the nearly all-white student body, the only people who commit crimes in this book are people of color. It will be hard for readers to find anyone to latch onto, as the characters are almost uniformly repellent, including Benny and Virginia. Their ability to shrug off the seriousness of the crimes they investigate in order to solve them seems positively sociopathic. The mystery itself is implausible, and that failing combines with the careless treatment of victims and loathsome characterizations to create an offering that's both repugnant and infuriating. Don't just skip this, run from it. (Mystery. 13 & up)

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July 1, 2016

Gr 9 Up-A fast-paced, sassy, and sultry whodunit. Mystery Club team members Benny and Virginia witness Brittany Montague in her school mascot costume jumping off a bridge and into the river while an odd figure just stands by and watches. Strangely enough, while all of this is happening, the entire Winship football team and all of the cheerleaders seem to be deranged and are running around wild in the woods. Plenty of drinking, dancing, and flirting go along with the unraveling of the case of the bridge-jumping mascot. The two gumshoes have to go up against the beautiful Zaire, one of Virginia's housemates; the awkwardly strange Gerard, who likes to dress up like Patrick Swayze; and the goofy yet insanely adorable German foreign exchange student Gottfried. The dynamic duo team "Beninia" may have their differences, but they also have respect for each other, as well as a deep mutual attraction. Dealing with run-ins with the police, encounters with long-haired jazz weirdos, and the strange behaviors that the popular kids have been exhibiting, they actually do a fairly good job of finding meaningful clues. VERDICT This work is a fine mix of teen angst and high school drama with a smooth twist of mystery and intrigue.-Kimberli Buckley, Concord Public Library, CA

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