I’LL BE GONE IN THE DARK by Michelle McNamara
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In the years leading up to her death, true crime writer Michelle McNamara diligently researched the serial killer and rapist that she labeled “The Golden State Killer.” Only two months after the posthumous publication of this book, a suspect was finally identified and arrested in connection with the decades-old crimes. I’ll Be Gone in the Dark reads partly as a police procedural mystery, with focus on the investigators, the collection of evidence, the piecing together of threads over the years, and the different theories swirling around the unsolved (at the time) case. It also reads as a bit of an autobiography of McNamara, with both the stories of her own life and her emotional connections to cold cases that she intended to share and the annotations about her writing process added by those close to her after her death. The interwoven plot lines of the investigators and writer in their relentless pursuit of justice made the book a gripping and powerful read at the time of its publication.
The arrest of Joseph DeAngelo only heightens the book’s appeal. Readers who may have been astounded that a cold case could be broken after so many years can see the inner workings of the investigation–the sometimes wild leads investigators followed relentlessly, some dead ends, but others astoundingly prescient given the investigation’s conclusion. The knowledge that the killer was finally caught also adds some catharsis to an otherwise unsettling ending where the killer remained free and the writer did not live to pursue her investigation further.
True crime is a tricky genre, especially for relatively recent crimes where in-depth studies may seem voyeuristic or insensitive to those loved ones still grieving. Through her focus on the investigation, McNamara gives a clear sense of purpose to every detail that she includes. The more graphic and salacious information is not provided to shock readers or to dramatize a family’s tragedy, but rather to build a wall of evidence with which to ultimately bring the killer to justice. If you are interested in this case or in true crime, I would highly recommend this book.
THE WIZARDS OF ONCE by Cressida Cowell
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Xar, the son of the wizard king, is known for being a troublemaker–disobedient, destructive, leading his ragtag entourage of sprites and snow cats into all kinds of danger. And the fact that at thirteen his magic still hasn’t come in makes him even more unruly. Wish, the warrior princess, is downright weird. Her limp, her eyepatch, and her odd interests make her hardly fit to call herself a warrior. But the mischief of these two sworn enemies reaches new heights when two forbidden errands collide in the Badwoods. Xar has come to set a trap for a witch, the darkest, most evil magic creature ever to exist, which everyone believes are extinct, but whose magic Xar hopes to steal. Wish enters the Badwoods chasing her pet, an iron spoon that must be magic and is therefore thoroughly forbidden (much to her young Assistant Bodyguard’s anxiety). She also has a magic sword she found near her mother’s dungeon that has an inscription claiming that it kills witches. And unfortunately for both Wish and Xar, that sword may be blood-curdlingly necessary.
As much as this novel is the thrilling start to a creative and engaging new fantasy series, it is a coming of age tale for two very different protagonists, each struggling to find a place in their respective society and to work through a complicated relationship with their respective intimidating parent. I suspect that the cheeky omniscient narrator would have annoyed me had I not been listening to the brilliantly performed audiobook. But otherwise, I loved everything about it. Can’t wait for the next installment!
I highly recommend the audiobook (performed by David Tennant), a well-deserved Odyssey Award Honor recording.
THE GENIUS PLAGUE by David Walton
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It has always been Neil’s dream to follow in his father’s footsteps in the NSA. Unfortunately, he’s not quite the ideal candidate, with no college degree, no computer coding experience, and a seemingly disasterous set of missteps in his interview process. Yet somehow he lands a job on the team of NSA problem solvers tasked with cracking the impossible codes no one else can solve. At first the work is tedious, but as certain bizarre messages begin to come through, the team realizes that people all over the globe have somehow been infected with the same fungal virus that Neil’s brother, Paul, brought back from a harrowing ordeal in Brazil. Paul and the other victims exhibit advanced intelligence, but also display other behavior changes that connect them to group of Brazilian terrorists. As Neil and the team try to make sense of the seemingly impossible events unfolding around them, an international conspiracy emerges that could threaten the survival of the human race.
Fun, fast-paced, and full of interesting tidbits about mushrooms. I thoroughly enjoyed this sci-fi thriller! It’s light on the sci-fi, so a good fit for thriller fans, adult and teen!
LITTLE FISH by Ramsey Beyer
Ramsey knows that she wants to go to art school and that she does not want to stay in the Midwest. She loves her small town, her family, and her friends, but something is calling her to Baltimore–and not just the punk scene. As she begins her college education in an unfamiliar environment, Ramsey navigates the challenges most college freshmen experience such as homesickness, adjusting to new freedoms, more difficult coursework, and new relationships. This graphic memoir will appeal to high school realistic fiction and memoir fans, especially seniors about to experience their own freshman year.
JUST LIKE JACKIE by Lindsey Stoddard
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Robbie’s temper is no secret. So if Alex Carter didn’t want to get punched in the face then he shouldn’t have made fun of her name. She is not named after some robin bird. She is named after Jackie Robinson, and everyone knows it. But not everyone knows that her grandfather’s memory is slipping, that he sometimes forgets where he is or where he’s going, or how to do simple things that he once did so well. And Jackie has to work hard to keep this a secret, because her grandfather is the only family she’s ever known, and she’s not about to let anyone tear them apart. But Robbie didn’t count on the Family Tree project at school that begins to bring all of the secrets in her life–and the lives of her classmates–to the surface.
This beautiful and engaging story was a fun read thanks to its vivacious narrator. The book deals with themes of race, identity, community, and what family means. Ultimately, Robbie will find a much larger family than she ever expected. I thoroughly enjoyed this new realistic fiction novel and would highly recommend it to middle grade readers.
BIG LITTLE LIES by Liane Moriarty
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Jane moved to Pirriwee on a whim. Really, everything she’d done since Ziggy was born had been a whim, not just the frequent moves. But in the small seaside town she immediately strikes up an unlikely friendship with feisty, queen bee Madeline and kind, perfect Celeste, and Jane begins to feel a sense of community for the first time in five years. Unfortunately, not everyone in Pirriwee is immediately friendly to the single mom, and when Ziggy is accused of bullying, the kindergarten moms divide into vicious factions. It would all be somewhat funny, if there weren’t a murder on the horizon. . . .
This book grabbed me not so much from the suspense of impending murder (although there was some of that) but from the suspense in Jane’s and Celeste’s life stories. If you enjoy character driven realistic fiction with a bit of suspense, check it out!
THE ARRIVAL by Shaun Tan
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A man travels to a foreign country, seeking a better life for his family. He arrives in a strange new land with bizarre language, buildings, and creatures. Even food is unrecognizable. As he begins to find his way, he encounters immigrants from other places, each with a different story of how they came to this unfamiliar land. By the time his wife and daughter are able to join him, he is ready to help other new arrivals navigate the world he once found so unnavigable himself.
Though its pages are few, this wordless graphic novel contains a wealth of meaning in its detailed and imaginative illustrations. The artist has captured the alien feeling of being isolated in a new place through fantastical cityscapes, while moving his character through a chain of interactions with other immigrants that builds a sense of community and universality around the immigrant experience. This beautiful story is not one to rush through. I’d recommend it to teens and adults who enjoy graphic novels and character-driven historical fiction.
GRIT by Gillian French
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Rhiannon’s disappearance is still leaving its mark this summer. There’s an air of suspicion, especially around Darcy. It makes sense. Everyone’s always suspicious of the town “slut,” whatever that means. And Darcy does have a secret–one she’s keeping for someone else. But when someone nominates both Darcy and her cousin Nell for Bay Festival Princess, Darcy can’t help but wonder who is out to get her. Is it a joke meant to humiliate her? Does someone know Darcy’s secret? Or does it all come back to Rhiannon and the town’s darkest secret of all?
I thoroughly loved the voice of this novel. Darcy is an authentic, flawed character who really gripped me from the opening pages. And the suspenseful plot made it difficult to put down. I highly recommend this book to teen fans of realistic fiction and suspense.
If you liked E. Lockhart’s We Were Liars, definitely check this one out.
CHARM AND STRANGE by Stephanie Kuehn
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Andrew has felt dead inside for a long time. He couldn’t explain exactly why he smashed that kid in the face with a tennis racket when he was nine, and he can’t explain why he would rather be alone in the forest than talking to the new girl at his boarding school. But something about Jordan draws him out in a way that his other classmates have not. He finds himself at a party with Jordan and his former roommate, Lex, on the night of the full moon. Which is a bad idea because he is certain that tonight will be the night that he changes. He has known it would happen, ever since that summer in New Hampshire when his older brother, Keith, told him that the wolf lived inside all of them. As he waits for the change, memories of Keith and their sister, Siobhan, intertwine with Jordan and Lex’s attempts to break through his shell.
This book is intense. Suspenseful, horrifying, and beautifully written. Did I mention intense? Kuehn weaves hints of fantasy through the novel, enough to make a reader hope that maybe it is a fantasy. Maybe the wolf is real. All the while, the fantasy echoes heighten the horror of the real story and help the reader find herself in the mindset of a traumatized child. If you like dark realistic fiction, this book is excellent. But be forewarned: intense. (Trigger alert: CSA)
RESTART by Gordon Korman
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When he wakes up, he is in the hospital, surrounded by strangers. A woman is crying and calling him Chase, but the name doesn’t seem right. He looks in a mirror and realizes he doesn’t know himself. After falling off the roof, Chase has lost all memory of the first thirteen years of his life. What’s even stranger than not knowing people is that people do seem to know him. And most of them don’t like him–even seem afraid of him. The more he learns about himself, the more Chase dislikes himself. But how could that be? Did the fall change who he was? Or is Chase the bully still inside him somewhere? As he grows closer to the people who once feared him, Chase must figure out who he really is or risk hurting the people he cares about most.
A wonderful coming of age story in which a boy is able to rebuild himself, piecing together those parts of him that he likes and discovering a new capacity for compassion. It gives inspiration to all of us who fall short of our ideal hopes for ourselves and strive to be better friends and citizens. I highly recommend it to middle grade fans of realistic fiction.
Susan the Librarian 