The Lewton Experiment

Gr 8 Up—When 17-year-old Sherri accepts a student internship at a newspaper in a sleepy Canadian town, she's anxious to hone her hard-hitting journalism talents. Much to her disappointment, though, she's assigned the community section and is stuck reporting on poorly attended church rummage sales and a lackluster farmers' market. As Sherri covers her beat, she discovers that Shopwells, a big-box store, has an unusually strong influence on the town's residents and businesses. As she investigates, she uncovers evidence suggesting that Shopwells is employing mind control to manipulate its customers and employees. Although the plot is interesting, the protagonist doesn't always act or speak like a modern teenager, using words like "slacks" instead of "pants" and "gone to bed with" to refer to sex. The book has a certain naïveté that makes it feel suited to a younger audience, though the main character swears and talks about having sex with her boyfriend, an issue with no real bearing on the plot. These concerns make it difficult to pin down this novel's audience. The story line will keep readers entertained, but they may struggle to identify with the characters.—Lindsay Cesari, Baldwinsville School District, NY