Homewrecker

May 1, 2021
Grades 8-11 After a violent tornado plows through her mobile home park, Bronwyn's mother is discovered dead, leaving the teen alone with only difficult choices for company. Chief among them is the uncomfortable prospect of living with her biological father--a senator who has hushed up Bronwyn's existence--and his "real" family (a wife and four legitimate children), plus upholding his standards and reputation. Enter the police with the coroner's report, which reveals that Mom didn't die in the storm but was, in fact, murdered. Bronwyn has to navigate a new identity, come to terms with family revelations that contradict what she was taught growing up, and figure out who killed her mother. The story has an intriguing premise but never achieves sufficient tension to cohesively bring its various threads together. Is it a mystery, realistic fiction, a thriller, a fusion? Though the characters are generally static and the resolution a bit of a letdown, readers may be drawn to the drama of Bronwyn's circumstances and her position as an underdog who's not about to give up the fight.

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