From Publishers Weekly
Part mystery, part coming of age story, O'Keefe's (One Hungry Monster) debut YA novel features a troubled 15-year-old narrator who mostly through her irrepressible energy convinces readers of the legitimacy of her amateur criminal investigation. The suspense builds, but a tenuous premise and rather stock characters weigh down the novel. When constantly uprooted Allie starts attending strangers' funerals in her new hometown, she goes to the burial of Jimmy, a boy who would have been in her freshman class. Armed with circumstantial evidence (plus an active imagination and big mouth), Allie concludes he was murdered, and with background information provided by his best friend, Dennis, she starts sleuthing. The dramatic scenarios that Allie dreams up can be hilarious (when she suspects the housekeeper of Jimmy's murder, she imagines her "doing it as ruthlessly as pulling the head off a chicken for dinner"), but readers may be challenged to believe Allie's conviction that she and Jimmy were "candidates for a `separated at birth' article" (because they both were children of divorce and math whizzes) and her subsequent obsession with him. Characters such as a wise old English teacher or a slow, hot-tempered bully seem equally contrived, and readers may well figure out the cause of Jimmy's death before Allie does. Ages 12-16.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Grade 7-10-Allie has spent the last 6 of her 15 years moving from town to town as her divorced mother goes from one low-paying job to another. She has become a troublemaker in school, the reason for their return to her mother's hometown and family. Allie comes upon Evergreen Cemetery and begins to attend the funerals of people she does not know, including a boy her own age who drowned. She becomes obsessed with Jimmy Muller and sets out to prove that his death was no accident. In doing so, she makes friends with another student and begins to trust a teacher who sees beyond her flippant attitude. In her quest, she discovers not only the truth of Jimmy's death, but also difficult truths about her own life. Having spent years building up defenses, Allie faces reality with grace and in a way that will appeal to readers. The unexpected twists and turns of the plot as she finds out what home and family really are make this coming-of-age novel a strong first offering for young adults.
Janet Hilbun, formerly at Sam Houston Middle School, Garland, TXCopyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
