FICTION

Troublemakers

by Catherine BARTER
360p. Carolrhoda Lab. Apr. 2018. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9781512475494.
COPY ISBN
Gr 9 Up—Alena has grown up in confusion about who her mother really was. When she was three, her mother passed away, and she has been living with her half brother and his boyfriend in London. Alena really wants to know where she came from and her brother is tight lipped about her mother because there are some skeletons in the closet. Alena starts digging up the past, and what she finds can put her entire family in jeopardy. The story starts out slow, but moves as Alena starts to find the truth about her background. Barter is adept at character development, but some of the writing lacks in complexity and falls flat. A lot of the chapters are short and choppy, which keeps the pace lively but fails to engage readers fully in the narrative. Teens will slog through and may not want to finish reading.
VERDICT Not recommended.
Reviewed by Mitchell Berman, Zion-Benton Public Library, Zion, IL , Mar 01, 2018

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