Young Adult Crime Fiction : A Round up of YA books by Mischa Thrace, Savannah Brown,

Today on The Crime Warp we have reviews of not one, but FOUR, Young Adult crime fiction novels. All four of these are fantastic reads and I would highly recommend them. We have:


My Whole Truth by Mischa Thrace, a brilliant story about privilege to rival 13 Reasons Why.

The Truth About Keeping Secrets  by Savannah Brown, a coming of age story with a criminal edge to it, exploring manipulation and peer control.


Fated by Teri terry, a n all too realistic portrayal of a society gone wrong.

Sea Change by Sylvia Hehier, a haunting coming of age of a grieving boy caught up in a murder investigation.  

My Whole Truth by Mischa Thrace

Blurb 

Available here

Seventeen-year-old Seelie Stanton never wanted to kill someone. She never wanted to be invisible in her own family, she never wanted to crush on her best friend Alyssa, and she definitely never wanted to know

how effectively a mallet could destroy someone's head. 

But the universe doesn't care what she wants. Shane Mayfield doesn't care what Seelie wants either. When the former high school basketball star attacks her, she has no choice but to defend herself. She saved her own life, but she can't bring herself to talk about what happened that night. Not all of it. Not even when she's arrested for murder.

What I think

As if being a seventeen year old isn't difficult enough ... factor in being attacked by a much older boy, keeping a secret from your best friends and family, grieving for your dad and then being catapulted into the spotlight of a murder trial when all you've done is try to defend yourself. My Whole Truth explores  the frailty and magic of deep seated friendships and contrasts that with the entitlement of the rich to pervert justice and bully the underdog. If you enjoyed 13 Reasons Why, you will enjoy this nuanced portrayal of teen life when tragedy and trauma strike in one fail swoop. I read this in one sitting. I loved the fact that the charcaters were flawed and vulnerable. I loved the different ways their strengths were shown  and most of all I loved the message ... Anyone can be a hero! 

The Truth About Keeping Secrets by Savannah Brown

Blurb

Available here

Sydney's dad is the only psychiatrist for miles around in their small Ohio town.

He is also unexpectedly dead.

Sydney believes the crash was anything but an accident. And when the threatening texts begin, and June Copeland - homecoming queen and golden child - appears at his funeral out of nowhere, she's sure of it.

But through Sydney's newfound relationship with June, she's given a glimpse of a life without the darkness of an unresolved grief and the chance, just maybe, of a fresh start.

Until it's clear that the secrets won't go away, and the truth might bring everything crashing down...

Imperfect friendships, the shadow of grief and the sweet pain of romance - this is a poetic, thrilling ode to being human

What I think
This novel is poignant, creepy and brilliantly scribed. Not only does it explore bereavement, but it weaves in other plotlines too. I liked the quirkiness of the characters and the organic underlying romance that was a slow but appealing burner. Sydney is such a plausible character. Her overpowering grief and her struggle to move on and proces it had me near to tears very often. At one point when she discovers the book about grief processes, highlighted by her mother, I just wanted to pick her up and hold her till she was stronger. The ongoing mystery surrounding her father's death and his relationship with her friend June is tantalisingly dangled just out of reach, keeping me hooked till the end. This is, despite the subject matter, both uplifting and informative. Highly recommended. 

Fated by Teri Terry

Available here

Blurb

I'm just one girl. What can I do?

Sam's cosy life as daughter of the Deputy Prime Minister is about to end. These are turbulent times. Borders have closed and protests are turning violent. The government blames the country's youth, and is cracking down hard. Mobile phones are blocked, gatherings are banned and dissent is brutally crushed.

Sam is torn between family loyalty and doing what is right. When she meets Ava and Lucas her mind is made up.

One girl, one choice. She can make a difference: she must. Even if her life - and her heart - are on the line ...

A red-hot thriller packed with secrets and revelations that shines a new light on the award-winning SLATED trilogy.

What I Think

Fated is a chilling and all too believable dystopian thriller. Unfortunately the dysyopia portrayed in the novel rarely feels too far-fetched. This is thought provoking, shocking in places and compulsive. The exploration of just how far people will go in the name of what they percieve to be right resonates strongly in today's political climate. Alongside that it is a coming of age storygrounded in harsh reality. It is also a tender love story between two very different characters.  

I await with bated breath the sequel to this one ... it had me hooked from early on and hats off to Terry for having the guts to take it as far as it needed to go. This is a no holds barred account of what could happen. Strongly written, beutifully characterised and very, very current. A 5* Young Adult read from me!

Available here

Sea Change by Sylvia Hehir

Blurb

Struggling to look after his grieving mother, sixteen-year-old Alex wants nothing more than to leave school. All right, he made some poor decisions during the summer holiday, not least of which was getting involved with Chuck, a stranger hiding out in this remote part of the Scottish Highlands. Chuck was exciting, challenging Alex to take ever-increasing risks. But Chuck wasn't supposed to turn up dead next to Alex's fishing boat. With the bills mounting, Alex has to accept that he is struggling to cope. But things get even worse when his best friend goes missing.

What I Think

The beautiful settings, the rustic coastline, the moors and wilderness juxtaposed with a small Scottish town a stone's throw away from Perth made this book for me. The coastal scenes and boating and fishing references were delicately painted. Alex as a young lad struggling with many aspects of teen life, as well as his own grief, puts his grieving mother first. This is a haunting protrayal of a young boy, coping on his own in the best way he can, whilst many of the adults around him let him down.  He's a bit of a misfit among his peers and finds solace in his fishing and cooking. This story is about friendships, bad decisions, mistakes and the complexity of life. I would have liked to have learned in a little more detail about Alex's poor decisions, perhaps through flashback. A strong debut novel, dealing with sensitive issues respectfully and with attention to detail. 

A strong 4* read from me.