Fun but inconsistent in execution.
Friendship doesn’t come from secrets...unless blackmail is involved.
It doesn’t seem like Owen, Gemma, Todd, and Ally have anything in common until a mysterious puppet master emails each seventh grader claiming to know their secret. Each of their respective secrets will be revealed unless the four puzzled (and scared) students do exactly what the blackmailer commands. Over the course of the following school day, the foursome must work together to complete what initially appears to be a series of meaningless tasks that slowly become more and more sinister. Suspects abound as the four try to determine what connects them, the tasks they’re forced to complete, and how both relate to a potential fifth victim. The twists and turns offer thrills as the narrative shifts among each of the four victims as well as a transcript of their conversations as they try to piece together clues. Readers may feel cheated, though, when the blackmailer is finally revealed, as the clues and the denouement aren’t fully linked. Additionally, resolution leaves a lot to the imagination: Did the blackmailer work alone? What ultimately happens to the blackmailer? What were the ramifications of the day? It’s an entertaining story, but the finale is less than satisfying. Main characters default to White; Ally was adopted from Kazakhstan, and names signal diversity in the supporting cast.
Fun but inconsistent in execution. (Mystery. 9-12)Pub Date: Dec. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-338-74633-4
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2021
Fast-paced and plot-driven.
In his latest, prolific author Gratz takes on Hitler’s Olympic Games.
When 13-year-old American gymnast Evie Harris arrives in Berlin to compete in the 1936 Olympic Games, she has one goal: stardom. If she can bring home a gold medal like her friend, the famous equestrian-turned-Hollywood-star Mary Brooks, she might be able to lift her family out of their Dust Bowl poverty. But someone slips a strange note under Evie’s door, and soon she’s dodging Heinz Fischer, the Hitler Youth member assigned to host her, and meeting strangers who want to make use of her gymnastic skills—to rob a bank. As the games progress, Evie begins to see the moral issues behind their sparkling facade—the antisemitism and racism inherent in Nazi ideology and the way Hitler is using the competition to support and promote these beliefs. And she also agrees to rob the bank. Gratz goes big on the Mission Impossible–style heist, which takes center stage over the actual competitions, other than Jesse Owens’ famous long jump. A lengthy and detailed author’s note provides valuable historical context, including places where Gratz adapted the facts for storytelling purposes (although there’s no mention of the fact that before 1952, Olympic equestrian sports were limited to male military officers). With an emphasis on the plot, many of the characters feel defined primarily by how they’re suffering under the Nazis, such as the fictional diver Ursula Diop, who was involuntarily sterilized for being biracial.
Fast-paced and plot-driven. (Historical fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781338736106
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
A rich, captivating story that will resonate with readers.
A coming-of-age story bringing awareness to Indigenous Peoples’ Day, “a holiday no one in this school seems to care about.”
Seventh grader Wesley Wilder, an Upper Skagit Indian Tribe descendant living just north of Seattle, proudly awaits the publication of her celebratory work, “We Still Belong: An Indigenous Peoples’ Day Poem!” But when her English teacher doesn’t mention her poem, despite always giving extra credit and class discussion time to students who are published in the school paper, she feels hurt and confused. Later, Wesley’s plans to ask the boy she’s crushing on to the school dance are derailed, adding to her emotional roller coaster. Day (Upper Skagit) crafts believable, complex characters: Wesley lives in a multigenerational Native family, is an outstanding student, a musician, and a gamer. She is kind and helps others in need. Her grandfather’s words—“the things that scare us the most in this world are usually the most worthwhile things in our lives”—help ease her vulnerability and self-doubt. This story, which weaves diversity into the supporting cast, incorporates layers of Native identity throughout, as Wesley connects with a new friend who is a young Native activist, learning more about Christopher Columbus. The triumphant ending shows Wesley raised up by family, friends, and community.
A rich, captivating story that will resonate with readers. (author’s note, note from Cynthia Leitich Smith of Heartdrum, We Need Diverse Books statement) (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2023
ISBN: 9780063064560
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Heartdrum
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2023
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