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My last read for the Edgar nominees for best YA is The Silence of Murder by Dandi Daley Mackall. This one was darker than the others at the opening: we're sitting in the court room with Hope while her brother Jeremy is on trial for murder. Not your light YA fare.

Against her better judgement, Hope testifies to their rough childhood so Jeremy, who no longer speaks, can be declared insane. In dark and clipped prose--my favorite--we learn that their mother is an unfit one, and an alcoholic too. But Hope (as her name implies) doesn't give up, and keeps looking for evidence to clear her brother's name. We delve deep into family history, small-town scandals, so the only way this mystery will be solved is by opening every can of worms.

This story was gripping, and the author didn't pull any punches when it came to the stakes. The resolution was a bit over-staged, but why not--I was right there as Hope revealed the killer. My only gripe was with the at times heavy religious message and quoting of scripture, particularly toward the end. It made the resolution very moralizing, and took away from the great grit this mystery has. Still, solid plotting, and a good murder mystery.

Verdict: a good mystery, could appeal to both boys and girls. Some religious overtones.

Mystery Quotient: 5 out of 5. Plotting a bit on the stretchy side, but done with heart.

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The next book in my YA Edgar nominees read-o-rama is The Girl Is Murder by Kathryn Miller Haines. As the cover hints, this YA mystery takes us to the forties, when Iris is struggling with the familiar YA stand-by: new school, new people.

But in the historical context, this YA cliche became fresh and interesting. Iris goes from a private to public school after her mother dies, and finds herself hanging with not-so-popular Pearl. To make matters worse, her P.I. father, an injured war veteran, is hanging on by a thread financially--which is what prompts Iris to help him with his cases. Her stubbornness is endearing, and her search for belonging in her new life recognizable.

Iris' quest shifts when a boy at her new school goes missing, and she begins her amateur sleuth quest for his whereabouts. We quickly get caught in some girl-drama, 1940s style. The historical detail in setting, dialogue and social mood were spot-on; big kudos to the author for getting the details right. This historical context got in the way of the story though, and the mystery's resolution felt a little disappointing to me. Still, The Girl Is Murder is a very solid P.I. mystery, well-plotted, and a unique read.

Verdict: recommended for a teen-view of the 1940s in America, probably better-suited for girls.

Mystery Quotient: 5 out of 5; a solid P.I. mystery.

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The third book in my kid lit Edgar nominees read-a-thon gave me a change of pace. After the fast-paced thrillers by Harlan Coben and Todd Strasser, Maureen Johnson's The Name of the Star felt like a slower ride. But the book was no less interesting and gripping, just more of a mystery. There's a puzzle to solve, so settle in and enjoy the journey, was what this book seemed to say.

Rory, a teen from Louisiana, gets to spend a year at a London boarding school. Okay, so I rolled my eyes a little when I saw this boarding school angle--let's face it, it's been done. But Johnson obviously did her homework, because the details of the British school system and the colorful way she described Wexford made me regret my initial reaction. I quickly got to love Jazza, Jerome, and the rest of the Wexford population.

 The book opens with the usual mystery body discovery, but then it took a while to get back to the dunnit--largely because Johnson took a good amount of time to let us watch Rory scramble to adjust to Wexford. But eventually, it becomes pretty clear that the story is not just any mystery, but a ghost hunting expedition as well.

I won't spoil the rest of the book, because you really should read it yourself. Despite some pacing and revelation hiccups, The Name of the Star is such a smart, well-written story that I didn't care that I had to watch Rory get settled at Wexford before the mystery got hot. Great YA voice, too. It's Agatha Christie meets Ghostbusters meets YA.

I know, you want to read it now, right? And you should.

Verdict: Perfect YA, probably more for a girl, but not a girly book. Smart. Cool.

Mystery Quotient: 4 out 5 because of the supernatural element. But pacing more like a traditional mystery.

Side-note: This is just the sort of book I wish had been around when I was a teen.

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Book two on my Tour des Edgars (doesn't that sound fancy?) is Kill You Last by Todd Strasser. A great cover that promises a snappy mystery/thriller.

And Strasser didn't disappoint. It took me a minute to shift gears from Harlan Coben's male POV to a decidedly more girl-friendly book, but once I got a few pages in, I was hooked. Break-neck pace, solid mystery--the perfect blend of mystery and thriller.

The story follows Shelby, daughter of a small-town but once big-shot photographer. When three missing girls are linked to her father and his questionably photography practices, she quickly gets caught in the media circus that puts her family life in chaos. Meanwhile, she's receiving threatening texts, and is alienated at school.

Shelby has to dig for the truth about her father's involvement in these girls' disappearances, all while trying to figure out who she can trust.

Kill You Last is a great mystery: I was wondering right along with Shelby what everyone's motive really was. Strasser had me staying up late, flipping the pages, so it had that great thriller element as well. I wasn't too crazy about the whole which-boy-do-we-like plotline, but that's more of a personal preference. Some of the dunnit and the title importance was a bit of a stretch, but not implausible.


Mystery quotient: 4 out of 5, mostly because of the thriller pacing. A solid mystery that leaves you guessing, but makes sense once you get to the reveal.


Verdict: Great for the reluctant reader teen, 14 and up. Main characters drive cars, and deal with mature subject matter, so definitely squarely in the YA category. But no questionable content at all. Probably more for a girl, but might stretch to boy territory because of the strong thriller factor.


Side Note: I liked Kill You Last. This Edgar race might just be tough to predict...

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It's Edgar time! The winners have been announced; Peter Abrahams' Reality Check won in YA, and Closed for the Season by Mary Downing Hahn won in Best Juvenile (this would be middlegrade).

Congrats to the winners, and Happy Friday!

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So what are my impressions of the 2010 YA Edgar Noms, you ask (or maybe you don’t, but I’ll give my opinion anyway)?

I thought every book was a solid mystery, which was so great to see this year. Where last year’s nominees were good, they weren’t quite the strong mysteries I’d hoped for. But this year was impressive.

What I liked was the diversity: there was a paranormal mystery (Shadowed Summer), a suspense/mystery (Reality Check), an unexpected Victorian (Petronella Saves Nearly Everyone), an old-school younger YA mystery (If The Witness Lied), and a fun whodunit, YA style (The Morgue and Me). What a great mix!

While all of these had their merits and are strong contenders, if I had to make my bet on who will win, I would say it’s The Morgue and Me by John C. Ford. While all the other nominees are good, this book has the strongest voice, which is what YA is all about.

So we’ll see in April if I’m right (I’m wrong all the time, so I’m not actually betting any money). Until then: kudos to the MWA people for choosing such excellent books, congrats to the authors, and thanks from the YA Sleuth for such a fun reading ride.

Mystery really does rock, and even more so when it’s YA.

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I always look forward to a Caroline B. Cooney novel, since hers are strong YA mysteries in a genre where straight mysteries are hard to find. If the Witness Lied starts strong, with Jack, Smithy and Madison as our siblings lead characters, and Diana, who babysits three year-old Tris in the family. Aunt Cheryl is the kids’ guardian, after their father died in an accident that has been blamed on little Tris.

Cleverly using shifts, Cooney uses a trail of clues to uncover who killed the kids’ father. Meanwhile, Aunt Cheryl is determined to get the family on TV, painting Tris as an evil child.

Although the mystery in this book is solid, the ‘bad guy’ was so glaringly obvious from even the book jacket description, I felt like putting the book away pretty quickly. Still, nicely plotted, and I might be a too-seasoned mystery reader for this book. I give If the Witness Lied a 3.5 out of 5.

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First on the list of this year's Edgar Nominees, Reality Check has a solid premise: girl goes missing, and now the mystery is where she went. Our lead is Cody, Montana football player with torn knee, who has just dropped out of high school when his girlfriend goes missing at her boarding school in Vermont. He drives to Vermont to find out what happened, and gets caught in rich family drama and Vermont town secrets.

Reality Check took a while to get started—it wasn’t until roughly 100 pages in that Clea goes missing. But then the suspense gets pretty good, with a fair amount of mysteries for Cody to solve. The ending was a good one, suspense-novel style (won’t give it away).

This is definitely an older YA, where the characters bordered and adult in their behavior and interactions. Though Reality Check is a strong contender for an Edgar, I think it would be an even stronger contender if International Thriller Writers had a YA category. I give it a 4 out of 5.

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But wait, you say, isn't the Edgar banquet on April 29th? Yes, it is, but I thought I would have my own little 2010 YA Edgar round-up right here on the blog. I've read all of these books:

BEST YOUNG ADULT

Reality Check by Peter Abrahams (HarperCollins Children’s Books – HarperTeen)
If the Witness Lied by Caroline B. Cooney (Random House Children’s Books – Delacorte Press)
The Morgue and Me by John C. Ford (Penguin Young Readers Group – Viking Children’s Books)
Petronella Saves Nearly Everyone by Dene Low (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children’s Books)
Shadowed Summer by Saundra Mitchell (Random House Children’s Books – Delacorte Press)


And Sunday through Thursday, I will post the review of one of these fine books every day--plus on Friday, I'll make my own prediction of who will win. So it's a pre-Edgar read-a-thon, kind of.

I hope you'll check in next week. It'll be fun, and I find that the Edgars are a good way to tell where YA mystery is at. A quick opinion: all of this year's nominees are solid mysteries (some of last year's, though impressive reads, were not quite making my mystery cut).

So next week is our YA Edgar Extravaganza! Exciting, no? It's like the Olympics for YA mystery fans.

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