Shade Me

Gr 9 Up—The author of Hate List (Little, Brown, 2009) kicks off a suspenseful series featuring California high school senior Nikki Kill. Nikki has synesthesia: a sense-combining condition in which she attributes certain colors to numbers, letters, and emotions. A strange phone call from popular classmate Peyton Hollis, with whom Nikki had no previous interactions, embroils Nikki in the illicit secrets of Peyton's glitzy and dangerous family. When Peyton is found badly beaten, Nikki decides to investigate, following Peyton's clues, which are seemingly tailor-made for Nikki's synesthete abilities. Brown writes Nikki's synesthesia as an almost heightened intuition, yet Nikki repeatedly and recklessly ignores it. Readers may also balk at Nikki's hazardous reluctance to enlist adult help, which she deems justifiable given her family history. Excepting the protagonist, the cast tends toward stock or superficially described characters who are saved only by their murky motivations, which help maintain the "whodunit-and-why" mystery. The violent, action-packed climax tears apart a few loose threads for future installments. While Nikki is a force to be reckoned with and the vaguely noirish, seedy Hollywood drama and quick pacing will appeal to teens, this title lacks the cheeky cleverness of Veronica Mars.