The Telling

Gr 8 Up—Lana has been living in the after—after her stepbrother and best friend Ben was murdered in front of her and his girlfriend, Maggie. Before, she spent her time working to graduate from high school and get accepted to college and hanging out with her best friend. Now, she needs to distract herself from Ben's death, so she becomes friends with The Core, a group of popular teens who drink and carry out dares. While cliff-diving at Swisher Spring, Lana finds Maggie's body buried underwater. The protagonist becomes the prime suspect, as she knows the cliffs well. Lana and her friends don't know what to think. One of Lana's classmates turns up missing. Someone's dogs are killed. Lana wonders if Ben's ghost isn't still around, taking justice for how she's been treated. This story is realistic, descriptive, and hard to put down. Lana is a likable character who is dealing with tragic loss in the best way she knows how. Told in first person, the narrative slowly reveals details to readers as Lana becomes aware of them. Teens are left wondering who could be the culprit and if Lana will discover the identity before it's too late. The secondary characters are distinctive enough to stand alone, but Lana and Ben are the real focus. Readers may anticipate the ending, but there are plenty of plot twists along the way. References to drinking and sex throughout make this appropriate for high schoolers.