The Fixer

Gr 9 Up—Imagine Shonda Rimes's Scandal plunked into the middle of an elite private high school in Washington, DC. Now imagine the younger sister of an Olivia Pope-like character who possesses some fixerlike qualities herself and is quickly drawn into a political web of intrigue. Barnes packs all of that and more in this YA thriller. Tess comes to live with her much older sister, Ivy, after her grandfather unravels into the throes of dementia. Ivy is busy, strict, and extremely powerful—Tess doesn't know whether to be scared of her or love her, or both. After the teen becomes privy to some shocking information, she embarks on a life-changing cycle of events that draws her into the underbelly of DC political life, showing her that perhaps she is not unlike her sister, after all. Barnes is a master of mystery, and The Fixer is a great "fix" for teens not quite ready to tackle the adult themes of the similarly themed TV show.