Tell Me

June 30, 2014
Anna McConnell, a budding actress about to enter eighth grade, proves that one person can make a difference, in this novel filled with comedy and drama. While Anna’s parents take a break from each other, Anna stays with her grandmother in Rosemont, Va., where preparations are being made for the annual flower festival. Amid the hoopla, Anna, playing the role of a petunia at the local library, notices something unusual: a scared-looking girl trying to escape from a van. Haunted by the image, Anna won’t rest until she finds answers about what happened to the girl. Luckily, her grandmother and some newfound friends share her concern and are willing to lend a hand. The story is at times cluttered with tangents involving other characters’ conflicts, but Bauer (Almost Home) skillfully weaves subplots together as Rosemont citizens (and Anna’s parents) rise to the challenge of solving the mystery. Anna emerges as a quick-thinking director and a creative actress, assigning roles to volunteers and orchestrating a happy ending for at least one unhappy child. Ages 10–up. Agent: George Nicholson, Sterling Lord Literistic.

July 15, 2014
A 12-year-old girl sees something suspicious and determinedly pursues it.Bauer's story initially runs along a relationship-oriented slice-of-life track: A girl with a father having anger management issues is sent to stay with her grandmother and must cope with new people and challenges in a strange community. Then, about a quarter of the way through, bang, the novel abruptly changes directions. Anna McConnell, Bauer's tense, emotionally overwrought yet capable protagonist, sees-or thinks she sees-something troubling: a young girl being controlled or even imprisoned by a couple in a van. One would think that kind of circumstance would speed up the action and make the material more suspenseful, but paradoxically, it has the opposite effect. Despite the fact that the information Anna has isn't definitive enough for the local police to do much, the people around Anna, including an adult who also thought the group was suspicious, are beyond supportive. Readers hear that it's good Anna was the one who saw it, because she "won't let it go," that she's "helping so much," is "a smart, discerning girl," "amazing" and "fierce," among other things. Nothing is left to the imagination: not Anna's overparsed analysis of her on-the-nose feelings nor Bauer's relentless hammering of the theme. An intriguing story idea is marred by a surfeit of telling. (Fiction. 10-15)

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July 1, 2014

Gr 4-6-A singing petunia, homeland security, the Rosemont Flower Festival, and much more create an unforgettable summer for Anna McConnell. Initially, Anna is downhearted about the summer she will spend with Mims, her grandmother, while her parents work on their troubled relationship. Anna is jolted from her emotional heartache by a peculiar incident at the local library. Her unyielding pursuit of minute details eventually leads her to uncover a human trafficking cohort. Along her journey, Anna also faces fears, family changes, and new challenges-while singing her way through it all. This novel soars through the everyday drama of a preteen, landing on the present day travesty of human trafficking. Bauer establishes a multi-faceted plot combining crime drama with a modern coming of age story. Anna's voice rings clear through first-person narration, allowing readers to sing, cry, and smell the flowers along with the protagonist. Short chapters and smart dialogue keep the pace moving. Ultimately, Bauer twists the widespread divorce issue into a lesson on empathy, inviting readers to keep their minds and eyes alert to worlds other than their own.-Mary-Brook J. Townsend, The McGillis School, Salt Lake City, UT

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