The final book of the Truly Devious trilogy, Maureen Johnson’s “The Hand on The Wall” is a satisfying conclusion to the series, even with its unnecessary amount of filler.
Maureen Johnson’s “The Vanishing Stair” is an intriguing and capable second book in the Ellingham trilogy. Following Stevie Bell in her return to Ellingham Academy, this book furthers both the current and twentieth century mysteries.
Twisting and complex, Maureen Johnson’s “Truly Devious” is an extremely solid start to a new YA mystery series. Centered around the prestigious boarding school Ellingham Academy, the novel follows amateur detective Stevie Bell as she begins her first year at the school. Ellingham is notorious for a double kidnapping and a murder that occurred in the early twentieth century, and Stevie is determined to solve the case while studying there.
Maureen Johnson’s “The Box in the Woods” is an intriguing and entertaining return to her Truly Devious trilogy. Stevie and her housemates Nate and Janelle are offered counselor jobs at a summer camp where four teenagers were brutally murdered in the 1970s. Told from both the point of view of characters in the current day and the past, the mysterious of Camp Sunny Pines begin to unravel towards a shocking conclusion.
Danielle Valentine’s “How to Survive Your Murder” offers a disappointingly flat execution of an interesting concept. Horror-obsessed teenager Alice Lawerence is coping with the murder of her older sister, Claire, a year after the incident. On the morning of the trial for the killer, she passes out in the courtroom bathroom and wakes up on last year’s Halloween night, with her sister beside her. Claire is alive again, and if Alice can solve her murder by midnight, she’ll stay that way.
Malinda Lo’s “A Scatter of Light” is a coming of age novel that sadly falls flat in comparison to its semi-companion piece: “Last Night at the Telegraph Club”. This novel centers Aria Tang West, a teenager sent to live with her grandmother in California as punishment for a scandal that she caused during her last week of senior year.
Julie Berry’s “Lovely War” is a poignant, moving take on passion, young love, and the loss of innocence. The novel begins with a conversation between the Greek gods in an effort to answer why Love is always drawn to war, but quickly spirals into the tale of Hazel and James, two teenagers in a time of chaos.
Rae Carson’s “Any Sign of Life” is a survival story with a heartfelt edge. The novel centers Paige Miller, a skilled teenage basketball player, who becomes extremely sick and passes out. When she wakes up days later, everyone is dead. She’s somehow avoided the arrival of the apocalypse, but now everyone she loves is gone.
Dahlia Adler’s Cool for the Summer is a passionate, nostalgic take on young love and identity. Lara returns to high school after a magical summer and immediately hits it off with her longtime crush, Chase. She’s thrilled, but is suddenly caught off guard by the reappearance of Jasmine, the girl she spent the summer with. Told in both the present and in flashbacks to the summer, the novel follows Lara as she grapples with her feelings for both Jasmine and Chase.
