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Period .8 refers to Mr. Lodgson's class, where honesty is the best policy and everything is confidential, where you can talk about anything or nothing, and where you can skip without getting in trouble, but nobody ever does. Period .8 is the "safe place." Mr. Logs has respect for his students, and they have respect for each other. Everybody trusts that what they see is the truth.
Everything starts to go to hell when Paulie admits to his girlfriend Hannah that he cheated on her. He loves her and wants to explain himself, that it really isn't what she thinks, but she won't give him a chance at redemption. She's pissed, and he should definitely have known better. But as the story begins to unravel, more and more questions are raised without any clear answers. There's one guy, Arnie Stack, who seems to want to reassure everyone that everything is fine, and Paulie is convinced that Arnie knows more than he's letting on. And when Arnie sets his sights on the now single Hannah, Paulie sets out to prove it.
This is a mystery of a different sort, combining the traditional with the psychological, and mixing our emotions up all along the way. There's really intrigue here, and more than anyone's fair share of danger. It seems that nobody and nothing is off limits.
Recommended to high school readers. There are lots more titles available from classic YA author Chris Crutcher.
Jack the Ripper is one of the -- if not THE -- most famous serial killers of all time in London. And it appears that there might be a copycat, but officials can't seem to grasp hold of any leads whatsoever.
Rory has just come from New Orleans to attend boarding school in London while her parents are working in Bristol. In the wake of a string of murders, the school decides that students are safest on campus, so there they remain. Things start to get pretty creepy when one of the murders takes place on school grounds -- on the same evening that Rory meets a strange man while sneaking back into her dorm. This strange man might lead to the killer, except no one else can see him.
Recommended to all high school readers, mystery lovers and general fiction readers alike.
Reviewed by kate the librarian.
In small-town Grain, Ohio the murder of high school baseball coach, John Johnson, is very big news. And the only suspect is Hope Long's brother, 19-year-old Jeremy. Jeremy's lawyer thinks that their only defense is a "Guilty by Insanity" plea, but Hope is absolutely positive that her brother is innocent.
Jeremy has always been special, and even more so since the age of nine when he became selectively mute. Since then Hope has been both best friend and caretaker of her older brother. Their mom, Rita, has more important things to take care of -- like get drunk, go out on dates, and keep secrets. Hope knows that it's up to her, the only one who truly believes that Jeremy could never commit murder, to convince both her brother's lawyer and the jury of her brother's innocence. But she may uncover more information than she bargained for, and she may also learn more about those around her than she really wanted to know.
This mystery is perfect for middle grade and older readers. The story is smooth, but it's the characters that really move the novel along. Jeremy is a highly memorable character, and Hope brings him to life. This is an Edgar Award-winning title.
Reviewed by kate the librarian.
Blink got his name because he blinks uncontrollably. He's on the run from a weak mother and a stepfather who is too strong for his own good. Over the past six months of living on the streets, he thinks he's gotten pretty good at finding clothes and food, but one day that gets him into trouble.
Caution named herself. Caution: Contents May Be Hot. Cation: Poison. She's running away from a tragedy for which she just can't forgive herself. She thinks she deserves nothing and has gotten mixed up with a dangerous drug dealer, hoping that he will be her salvation -- her death.
Blink and Caution cross paths before she steals his money, but they never notices each other before meeting at the train station, headed for Kingston. This meeting propels them on a journey that neither could have even invented from their dreams, and ultimately leads to precious forgiveness and friendship. Hopefully they can survive long enough to enjoy the life they never imagined.
This is some seriously good teen noir crime suspense. Reviewed by kate the librarian.
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