A Lie for a Lie

December 5, 2016
A teenager grapples with anxieties past and present in Edgar winner MacCready’s (Buried) gripping coming-of-age tale. Kendra Sullivan and her best friend Jenn have decided that this summer, after their junior year of high school, will be a “breakout” one for them: Jenn plans to pursue an older boy she likes and Kendra wants to conquer the anxiety that has plagued her since she almost drowned in a boating accident at age seven. But things are complicated, not so much by the girls’ forays to the local teen hangout of Strawberry Island near Portland, Maine, but by the revelation that Kendra’s father is having an affair. Jenn, a somewhat blasé child of divorce, tells Kendra to leave it alone, but Kendra doggedly pursues her father’s infidelity, following him around town and taking incriminating photographs with the camera she always carries. Though the novel’s ending is overly tidy, MacCready does an admirable job of conveying the push and pull between childhood allegiance to one’s parents and the realization that the people who raised you are just that: people. Ages 12–up. Agent: Wendy Schmalz, Wendy Schmalz Agency.

November 15, 2016
It's going to be Kendra's "breakout summer"--or so she tells herself following her junior year.But her special, life-changing summer doesn't get off to an auspicious beginning when she observes her father with another woman. Although following him could bring on one of the panic attacks she's been prone to since a near drowning as a 7-year-old, Kendra becomes fixated on snooping deeper and deeper into her father's affair, even repeatedly sneaking into his mistress's home to take photographs. On yet another breathless foray, Kendra steals from her and her elementary school-aged daughter. Meanwhile, she's developing a hot relationship with Will, the guy of her dreams--she thinks, even though there are plenty of hints that he's a sexual parasite, unlike reliable, loving Bo, her best friend's brother. Kendra blithely ignores the fact that Will is already going with another girl--oblivious that her own disagreeable behavior is ironically mimicking her father's errant ways. Set on the southern coast of a partially fictionalized Maine among a plenitude of superficial, well-off, apparently white kids (based on cover art, as descriptions of the characters are nearly nonexistent), this tale effortlessly achieves banality. Even when Kendra discovers the true nature of her father's affair and her parent's relationship, it just serves as an unsurprising affirmation of the depthless nature of the characters. A soapy romance for an uncertain audience. (Fiction. 12-18)

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December 1, 2016

Gr 9 Up-When Kendra was seven years old, she was in a boat accident that killed her parents' friend and seriously injured her mom. In the decade since then, she has tried to overcome her anxiety attacks, mostly with the help of her father. But the summer before her senior year of high school, Kendra sees her father with another woman. To figure out what's happening, Kendra takes photographs as she follows him and his mysterious companion. She also starts a relationship with her dream guy, who might be untruthful as well. The simple language makes this a possible choice for struggling readers, but some might get frustrated with the slow narrative and find it easy to figure out the mysteries and scandals surrounding Kendra's family and friends. The first chapter opens with a bang, but the rest of the story doesn't live up to the intriguing premise. It might also be difficult for readers to believe that someone who has lived with anxiety for more than half of her life can be so blase about everyone's lies and betrayals, which are neatly tied up in the final, anticlimactic chapters. VERDICT An additional purchase for libraries where emotion-driven mysteries are in demand.-Elissa Cooper, Helen Plum Memorial Library, Lombard, IL

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 15, 2016
Grades 8-12 Seventeen-year-old photographer Kendra plans for a breakout summer in coastal Maine: she'll overcome her boating-related anxiety, and act on her long-standing crush on Will, who just might dump his girlfriend if Kendra plays her cards right. While snapping photos at a music festival, Kendra is shocked to find her dad with another woman. She begins to follow him around, compiling photographic evidence and catching him in lie after lie, as it becomes clear that he leads a very different life than what he pretends. Meanwhile, the physical connection between Will and Kendra intensifies, but Kendra doubts Will's loyalty. A family crisis pushes Kendra to her limit and forces a confrontation of the deceptions and the hurt. Kendra is a likable and flawed protagonist with a solid set of friends and relatable family to round out the cast. Though some threads are tied up a little too prettily at the close, this mystery is a savvy family drama with a romantic frame, a great setting, and just enough edge to create suspense.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2017
When aspiring photographer Kendra witnesses her father kissing another woman, her summer plans get put on hold as she trails her father, gathering incriminating evidence. Although the novel offers worthwhile themes--including the realization that parents are flawed, with identities separate from their parental roles--the mystery at the story's heart isn't very compelling, and the revelations feel anticlimactic.

(Copyright 2017 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)