A fast-paced mystery with a gentle dose of the promised drama.
Someone is trying to turn the sixth graders against each other—can an aspiring podcaster expose the truth?
After solving a mystery at her old school, Izzy Wong transfers to the prestigious Danforth School for the Arts—the perfect setting for the second season of her true crime podcast. She quickly uncovers bitter rivalries; everyone is competing for something, from the lead in the school play to social media followers. Izzy realizes that these hostilities might be story-worthy when the show’s handsome, talented star, Brody Hogan, becomes the subject of a mean-spirited meme created by an anonymous bully using artificial intelligence―and soon, other kids are targeted. Enrolled in both the acting and technical arts tracks to hone her podcasting skills, Izzy is caught between the two cliques, accepted by neither. Izzy knows she can expose the culprit if she follows her journalistic instincts, but how can she solve the mystery when her classmates won’t sit down for interviews? Like the first series installment, this tale captures the technical aspects of podcasting and journalism while also offering thoughtful takes on the value of human-created art over AI, the cost of fame, and the contributions of those working behind the scenes. Though the central conflict is relatively tame, suspenseful pacing, compelling supporting characters, and realistic plot twists make for a welcome return to Izzy’s world. Hints in the text suggest that Izzy is of Chinese heritage.
A fast-paced mystery with a gentle dose of the promised drama. (Mystery. 9-12)Pub Date: March 17, 2026
ISBN: 9781459842366
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: Nov. 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2026
Slick sleuthing punctuated by action on the boards and insights into differences that matter—and those that don’t.
Brothers, one neurodivergent, team up to shoot baskets and find a thief.
With the coach spit-bellowing at him to play better or get out, basketball tryouts are such a disaster for 11-year-old Green that he pelts out of the gym—becoming the chief suspect to everyone except his fiercely protective older brother, Cedar, when a valuable ring vanishes from the coach’s office. Used to being misunderstood, Green is less affected by the assumption of his guilt than Cedar, whose violent reactions risk his suspension. Switching narrative duties in alternating first-person chapters, the brothers join forces to search for clues to the real thief—amassing notes, eliminating possibilities (only with reluctance does Green discard Ringwraiths from his exhaustive list of possible perps), and, on the way to an ingenious denouement, discovering several schoolmates and grown-ups who, like Cedar, see Green as his own unique self, not just another “special needs” kid. In an author’s note, King writes that he based his title characters on family members, adding an element of conviction to his portrayals of Green as a smart, unathletic tween with a wry sense of humor and of Cedar’s attachment to him as founded in real affection, not just duty. Ultimately, the author finds positive qualities to accentuate in most of the rest of the cast too, ending on a tide of apologies and fence-mendings. Cedar and Green default to White.
Slick sleuthing punctuated by action on the boards and insights into differences that matter—and those that don’t. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 23, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-66590-261-8
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A promising fiction debut.
Family secrets, an unsolved bank robbery, summer on a lake, a treasure island and a first romance are the ingredients for this inviting middle-grade mystery.
Unhappy with his new life and new stepfather in Southern California, 13-year-old Trav runs away to the small town in Minnesota where his dad grew up and his grandmother lives. He quickly learns why his mother won’t talk about his father, who died before he was born. Suspected of having robbed a local bank, the man disappeared in a storm, his boat washed up on an island in the lake. Everyone figures Trav knows where the money is, a theory confirmed when some of the burgled money turns up in local stores after his arrival. Trav manages to convince neighbor kid Kenny and his hot cousin Iz of his innocence, and together, they try to figure out where the loot might have been stashed and who has sent Trav a threatening note. Careful plotting and end-of-chapter cliffhangers add to the suspense. The first-person narration suggests that Trav’s imagination has been fed by too much television, but the imagined threats become frighteningly real as the story progresses. Trav’s voice is believable, Bullard’s Minnesota setting full of convincing detail, and the boy’s hesitant romantic efforts add a pleasant embellishment.
A promising fiction debut. (Mystery. 9-12)Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-544-02900-2
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: Aug. 13, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
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