A tiny pistol, passed from friend to friend at a party on an abandoned pier, suddenly fires, and Casey Carmody falls into the water below. Kurt, Casey's older brother, endures a seemingly endless night at the police station while the coast guard searches for his sister and his friends are questioned, one by one.
Who was foolish enough to pull the trigger? Was the gunfire accidental or deliberate? Or was the whole drama one of Casey's practical jokes? And where is Casey--or her body--now?
Dark secrets are revealed and petty jealousies rear their ugly heads as each eyewitness comes to the questioning room with his or her own version of "the truth."
Carol Plum-Ucci received one of the nation's top literary honors for her first novel, THE BODY OF CHRISTOPHER CREED, a suspense story set in the historic woods of Southern New Jersey. The novel received one of four Michael J. Printz Honor Book Awards, sponsored by the American Library Association, recognizing the best literature published for young adults. The novel also was a finalist in the Edgar Allan Poe Awards and was named to the Reader's International Children's Choice Awards List.
She is happy to report that Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has purchased a SEQUEL TO THE BODY OF CHRISTOPHER CREED. It will be released in the spring of 2011. "For years, people asked if I would write a sequel. In fact, I don't think I've ever spoken for an audience where someone hasn't asked that," Plum-Ucci said. "I always said no because I couldn't think of anything good that would happen next. Well, one stormy Saturday night in the dead of winter, I got this totally hot idea and just went with it. It's a lot of years later, but I held out for artistic integrity--a story line that I knew would keep readers turning pages--and didn't try it just to piggy-back a book selling well. As the saying goes for me and HMH: 'We will sell no idea before its time.'"
The CREED SEQUEL focuses on Chris Creed's brother Justin, who, after four years have passed, is now 16. "The theme of bullying didn't carry over to this book--I'll be honest," Plum-Ucci said. "But that theme was always, to me, secondary to a relentless pursuit of truth theme, which engaged Torey Adams throughout. And that theme is still very present. I'm asking kids to look beyond what they can touch, see, smell--something they're not often asked to do by school districts, and I think it's both fun and important."
FIRE WILL FALL, a sequel to STREAMS OF BABEL was released by HMH in the spring of 2010. In STREAMS OF BABEL, terrorists poison the water supply in New Jersey (released in the spring of 2008), and in FIRE WILL FALL, the teenagers who drank the most WMD are fighting for their lives. "I think of FIRE as more of a character piece, so it surprised me pleasantly to see all the reviews coming in, calling it a page turner," Plum-Ucci said. Both books were immediately named Premiere Selections the Junior Library Guild upon release.
WHAT HAPPENED TO LANI GARVER, Plum-Ucci's second novel, is story of prejudice, friendship, popularity, tolerance, and individuality. The story raises a most important question: Might angels exist on earth? The novel has been selected as a featured book both in Seventeen Magazine and YM Magazine. It is named to the 2003 Best Books for Young Adults List, sponsored by the American Library Association, and is a 2004 Teen Top Ten nominee. It was nominated for the Michael L. Printz Awards for excellence in Young Adult Literature.
Plum-Ucci's third novel of THE SHE, was was nominated for BBYA (Best Books for Young Adults, The American Library Association) and received a starred review in Booklist. Her fourth novel, THE NIGHT MY SISTER WENT MISSING, was named a finalist in the Edgar Allan Poe Awards.
Plum-Ucci spent her childhood growing up on the barrier island of Brigantine, New Jersey, where her father was a funeral director. She lived overtop of the funeral home.
'My bedroom was such that if the floor were made of glass, I would have been gazing down into the face of a casket dweller,' she frequently tells audiences. 'When people ask me how I became a writer, I say it was in the middle of nights while growing up there.'
Plum-Ucci loves to tell her childhood funeral home antics, which have captivated teenage audiences across America.
She attended the Brigantine Public Schools, Atlantic City Friends School, and Holy Spirit High School, graduating in 1975. She earned her bachelor's degree in Communication from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana in 1979. She attended Rutgers University and received her Master of Arts degree 2004.
Plum-Ucci worked as Staff Writer and Director of Publications for the Miss America Organization in Atlantic City from 1984 through 1999. She is the third generation of women in her family to contribute to Atlantic City's well-known fanfare. Her mother, Ellen Plum, was the first woman President, and her paternal grandmother, Ads Plum, was a member of the Hostess Committee. She retired from corporate employ in June of 1999, 'about two days after my advance arrived for The Body of Christopher Creed,' she says. 'I loved being part of something historical like Miss America, and I have many great memories of working there. But I'd spent many years trying to become a published novelist, and I wanted to started enjoying that lifestyle as quickly as possible."
Her husband Rick owns the Ucci Piano Service. Together, they love gardening, going to the Margate Beach in the summers, watching Academy Award winning movies, and raising their daughter, Abbey.
This review is from: The Night My Sister Went Missing (Hardcover)
Carol Plum-Ucci is a phenomenal writer who mixes elements of thrillers, mysteries, and problem novels with great success. In her latest, THE NIGHT MY SISTER WENT MISSING, she covers familiar territory from earlier novels without costing the story a suspenseful edge or satisfying conclusion. With her usual cast of sympathetic characters, readers are drawn into the story and feel as if they have a stake in the outcome.
The narrator, Kurt Carmody, learns the details of his sister's disappearance while eavesdropping on an interrogation room at police headquarters. Although there were many people there when Casey Carmody vanished, including Kurt himself, each witness' testimony is limited by personal bias against the main suspect, Stacy Kearn. Stacy and her father appear to be guilty of several crimes as well as an assortment of inappropriate personality quirks. Yet readers are wise not to rush to judgment in the story. No one and nothing is as it appears, neither those under suspicion for Casey's disappearance nor those who rush to help her and claim innocence. Like her earlier novels, particularly The Body of Christopher Creed and What Happened to Lani Garver, Plum-Ucci creates a realistic sense of community guilt for the mysterious, tragic events in the lives of teenagers. Those who are viewed as outsiders and are made to feel unwelcome suffer for the intolerance of others. This message rings through the novels closing chapters without overpowering the reader.
As in previous novels, the author tackles community myths and legends in order to show that there's usually a logical reason behind so-called paranormal events. Although the ghost of a suicide victim is given short-play in this novel, this subplot is engaging enough to leave the reader in doubt about the nature of Casey's disappearance until the novel's conclusion. There may be no better mystery writer in today's market for maintaining tension without sacrificing realistic endings than Ms. Plum-Ucci.
Five stars. Highly recommended.
Reviewed by: Mark Frye, author and reviewer
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This review is from: The Night My Sister Went Missing (Hardcover)
Kurt Carmody and his sister Casey are at a party on the pier, breaking lots of rules while their parents are out of town. When Casey disappears after a gunshot is heard, Kurt is left to spend the night at the police station, trying to figure out what happened. Everyone thinks they know and are happy to point fingers. Secrets, and much more, are uncovered about the Mystic Marvels, the insulated group that Kurt and Casey hang out with on the island.
No one has discovered a body, so where is Casey? Kurt finds a place to sit and wait at the station, and is able to hear some of the police interviews with other teens from the party. At 17, Kurt had gone to the party having doubts about heading to the Naval Academy. He had argued the night before with his 15-year-old sister about her older boyfriend, Mark Stern. So Kurt was separated from Casey at the pier, busy talking to a geeky kid who seemed to be happy with a set future.
Casey loved pranks. An accomplished diver, she joked lots of times about diving off the pier. So how come no one can find her? Kurt thinks back to the gun that was passed around. It was small enough to be a toy, and no one seems to know whose it was or where it is now.
Several teens think Stacey Kearny is involved. She is a bit of an outsider who has done kind things. But now she is Mark Stern's ex-girlfriend, is rumored to be pregnant, and was heard screaming when Casey disappeared. She is also supposed to have a big crush on Kurt, who grows tired of all the rumors and goes down to help the search.
His Naval Academy sweatshirt washes up, with a clean hole through it, but no blood. He finds Stacey also looking for Casey, who admits she purchased the gun. As each person speaks, Kurt begins to see what no one else can --- that there is more than one victim, and a lot more to Stacey than anyone realizes.
THE NIGHT MY SISTER WENT MISSING has all the suspense and drama of a locked-room mystery. Everyone observed the gun, but no one really saw anything. Carol Plum-Ucci, author of the award-winning THE BODY OF CHRISTOPHER CREED, has crafted an intricate mystery filled with shocking surprises and characters whom readers will remember for a long time.
--- Reviewed by Amy Alessio
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Casey Carmody disappears into the dark waters at a night-time party in a small town. It's unsure if she dove, was pushed off, or fell off the pier after gunfire was heard. Casey's brother Kurt, who was at the party but didn't see what happened, wants to get to the bottom of things, hoping his sister is alive somewhere. All fingers are pointing to Stacy Kearney, who brought a derringer to the party. Stacy's pregnant and Casey's boyfriend may be the father. Also, Stacy has secrets swirling around her which involve her seedy family. When I was reading this, I couldn't wait to see whodunit and if/when Casey would reappear. Carol Plum Ucci's THE NIGHT MY SISTER WENT MISSING is a solid YA mystery with delightful twists and turns.
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