Reality Check by Peter Abrahams

We meet our protagonist, Cody Laredo, as he is finishing his sophomore year of high school. He has every reason to be thrilled: he's dating a beautiful girl, and he (barely) passed all of his classes, making him eligible to return to his spot as the school's varsity quarterback. Football is truly the only reason he even goes to school, and he sees it as his ticket out of town and onto bigger and better things.

Life slowly starts to unravel when the rich father of his girlfriend Clea determines her only chance of making it into an Ivy League school is to get out of their small town. He abruptly enrolls her in a prestigious boarding school in Vermont, and suddenly she seems to be out of Cody's life. As the new school year begins, he puts all of his focus into football. Things are going well until Cody sustains a season ending injury. He slips into a depression and begins skipping school. His single father barely notices and doesn't object when Cody eventually drops out to get a job.

The real story begins when Cody spots a headline in a local newspaper: Clea is missing. An accomplished equestrian, she took her horse onto the snowy trails, but only the horse returned. Although they broke up when she moved, Cody still has strong feelings for Clea and drives cross-country to help with the search. Cody's only clue is a letter he received from Clea, mailed the day she went missing. He knows that the letter contains clue to where she is and what happened.

Cody soon learns that football isn't the only thing he's good at; as he enters a new world of secrets, money, and lies, he becomes quite the investigator. This is a novel where nothing is as it seems. I found myself constantly questioning the motives of everyone involved, and it is not until the final pages when we find out who is good, who is bad, and whether or not Clea is alive.

Peter Abrahams is a well-known author of both YA and adult books. This is the first book of his I've read. It's a classic mystery and a very quick read full of lots of twists and turns. I highly recommend this book to both male and female young adult readers, especially those who love a fast plot. Although the main character is male, the general premise reminded me of Alane Ferguson's Christopher Killer series. I have a lot of former students waiting on the next book in that one (due out October 15!), so check this out in the meantime. Although Abrahams doesn't leave loose ends, he could definitely create a series around Cody.

Deadly Little Secrets by Laurie Faria Stolarz

So many of my students were hooked on Stolarz's Blue is for Nightmares series (ps-Black is for Beginnings is to be released in September in graphic novel format), so I was thrilled when she released this book. It is the first in a new series, with the second book to be released November 10. Laurie apparently has more hours in her day than the rest of us.

Although I was annoyed by the first chapter, I grew to really love this book. To sum up chapter one, our main character, Camelia, drops her earring as she walks across the parking lot of her high school. A car comes racing towards her, but she is suddenly shoved out of the way by a mystery boy. The real mystery begins when the boy places his hand on Camelia's stomach. An almost electric shock passes between them, and his face grows serious as he seems to be "connecting" with her in some way. This introduction seemed just a little too familiar to me (can I get an "Amen!" Twilight folks?), and although the supernatural comes into play the text remained vampire free.

Camelia soon learns that her mystery savior is Ben Carter, a new student with a serious past. In his old hometown, he was rumored to be responsible for the death of his girlfriend who fell to her death from a cliff. Although the charges were dropped, the consensus of most is that he was guilty. Against the advice of her two best friends, Camelia can't help but to be intrigued by Ben, and consequently pursues him.

A second plot line is created as we learn someone is stalking Camelia. She begins receiving various gifts with notes that grow increasingly threatening. At one point she even comes home to discover someone has broken into her room and scrawled a horrible message on her mirror. As a reader I had several suspects (including Ben) in mind until the very end.

I enjoyed the author's use of alternating perspectives. Some chapters are told from Camelia's first person accounts, while others are from the creepy journal of her stalker. Through these journals we realize just how crazy this stalker is, and just how much danger Camelia faces.

Readers who have enjoyed Twilight, Blue is for Nightmares, or any teen suspense book/movie should pick up this book! It is a fast read that will leave you wanting the second book now!