BCCB-February 2003 Bulletin Dozen

	The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
	The Bulletin Dozen is a monthly theme-based booklist available as an online-only Bulletin feature. Since we're awfully fond of bakers here at the Bulletin, we thought we'd adopt their philosophy of generosity and throw in an extra one or two when we have them to offer--so don't expect an even dozen. Please feel free to copy, download, or link to these lists. We ask only that you cite the source. See the archive for lists from previous months.
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And That's When I First Suspected . . . A Dozen Young Adult Mysteries
selected by Jen DeBaillie

Mysteries tend to follow the rules--a puzzle, an investigation, a solution. The best of them escape predictability because their subject matter--death, disappearance, deception--is all about life breaking through the usual boundaries. And what better reason than crime for the protagonist (and us as readers) to cross a few lines as well? After all, could there be a more compelling motivation to break into a locked room? A more legitimate excuse to probe a stranger's (or family member's) most intimate secrets? Delve a little deeper, and mysteries are all about breaking the rules. --Jen DeBaillie

Bloor, Edward. Crusader. Harcourt, 1999. Gr. 9-12
Roberta labors after school in the family's virtual reality arcade in South Florida mall. Exploring the truth behind her mother's murder, she turns her attention to a series of hate crimes and financial problems plaguing the mall and uncovers dark secrets in this complex, atmospheric novel. (BCCB 12/99)

Cross, Gillian. Phoning a Dead Man. Holiday House, 2002. Gr. 7-10
Hayley can't believe that her brother John, a demolition expert, died in an explosion in Russia; he was very careful and he was very good. Traveling as an assistant to John's wheelchair-reliant fiancée, Annie, Hayley journeys from home in Britain to the Siberian wilderness to retrace John's final days. (BCCB 5/02)

Herman, John. Deep Waters. Philomel, 1998. Gr. 7-10
Andrew's otherwise happy time at Camp Winasaukee is marred by the unsettling rivalry over a girl between two counselors, Andrew's idol, the golden-boy Johnny, and the far less charismatic Tony. When Tony drowns, Andrew is forced to explore the truth about Johnny and himself. (BCCB 11/98)

Kerr, M. E. Fell. Harper, 1987. Gr. 7-12
Wealthy Woodrow Pingree offers John Fell the chance to attend an exclusive prep school as long as he pretends to be his benefactor's son. Inducted into an elite but secret school society, Fell discovers that generosity may not have been Pingree's prime motive. (BCCB 7/87)

Konigsburg, E.L. Silent to the Bone. Karl/Atheneum, 2000. Gr. 7-10
Branwell is unable or unwilling to speak after his baby half-sister is horribly injured. Determined to save his friend from accusations of abuse, Connor devises non-verbal means of communication to tease out Branwell's story. (BCCB 10/00)

Littke, Lael. Lake of Secrets. Holt, 2002. Gr. 6-9
Returning to the lake where her younger brother Keith was lost long before she was even born, Carlene begins to experience memories that are not her own--memories from someone else's past that may hold the key to Keith's disappearance. (BCCB 4/02)

Lynch, Chris. Freewill. HarperCollins, 2001. Gr. 9-12
Powerful interior dialogue conveys the story of Will's life, which is marked by the death of his father and stepmother, that of several fellow students, and his own suicidal feelings. When his unique wooden sculptures appear at the scene of several fatalities, suspicions are aroused and Will struggles to make sense of it all. (BCCB 3/01)

Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds. Jade Green: A Ghost Story. Atheneum, 2000. Gr. 7-10
Orphaned Judith finds a warm and welcoming sanctuary in her uncle's South Carolina home. Breaking the single, strange prohibition forbidding the color green in the house, she brings a terrifying, ghostly past back to life in this old-fashioned gothic tale. (BCCB 2/00)

Plum-Ucci, Carol. The Body of Christopher Creed. Harcourt, 2000. Gr. 9-12
When misfit Christopher Creed disappears, rumors and blame fly through his small New Jersey hometown. The boy's mother is convinced that bully Bo Richardson murdered her son. Bo's unlikely friend Torey tries to clear him, uncovering a web of cruel secrets and his own newfound sense of compassion. (BCCB 4/00)

Pullman, Philip. The White Mercedes. Knopf, 1993. Gr. 9-12
When Chris meets runaway Jenny at an Oxford party he falls for her fast and hard. Parted after a steamy encounter, their lives remain tangentially connected through Chris' small-time criminal boss and come crashing back together during a brutal act of revenge. (BCCB 6/93)

Vande Velde, Vivian. Never Trust a Dead Man. Harcourt, 1999. Gr. 6-10
Accused of offing Farold, his rival for the beautiful Anora, Selwyn is sentenced to die a nasty death sealed alive in the dead man's tomb. He escapes with the help (and sometimes hindrance) of a rather demanding witch and Farold's resurrected spirit in a humorous medieval mystery with a healthy dose of fantasy. (BCCB 4/99)

Werlin, Nancy. The Killer's Cousin. Delacorte, 1998. Gr. 7-12
David moves in with his aunt and uncle to escape painful notoriety in his hometown, the result of his recent trial (and acquittal) for the murder of his girlfriend. His apparent haven holds a new threat, his disturbed cousin Lily. (BCCB 9/98)

Westall, Robert. Yaxley's Cat. Scholastic, 1992. Gr. 7-12
Timothy and Jane convince their mother to let an isolated cottage on the bleak Norfolk coast. A stash of gold coins, a handwritten book, and a menacing cat soon arouse the family's suspicions in this atmospheric tale of supernatural and all-too-human evil. (BCCB 3/92)

Wynne-Jones, Tim. The Boy in the Burning House. Kroupa/Farrar, 2001. Gr. 7-10
Jim's uneasy acceptance of his father's disappearance is upended when bad-girl Ruth Rose tells him that her preacher-stepfather killed Jim's dad. Jim doesn't know what to believe--about Ruth Rose or his own father's connection to another mysterious death thirty years ago. (BCCB 11/01)

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