What We Saw

August 8, 2022
A small-town murder heralds the death of childhood innocence in this character-driven thriller by Hahn (The Thirteenth Cat). Longing to shake things up during summer break (“Don’t you want to see exactly where Evansburg stops and Plattsville starts? Haven’t you ever wondered about endings and beginnings?”), 12-year-old Abbi’s reckless best friend, Skylar, persuades her to start sneaking out to an abandoned tree house near their town’s limits, where they dodge a pair of weed-dealing bullies and observe weekly assignations between two disguised adults. Abbi imagines the grown-ups as spies, and Skylar as an adulterous couple, but the discovery of the woman’s corpse in the nearby woods—and her identity as someone they both know—soon shatters their fantasies. Grappling with grief, experiencing tension with Skylar, and unable to confide in her mother, Abbi’s reluctant connection to the murder investigation propels her toward sinister danger. Creating suspense through Abbi’s anxiety and ominous setting details, including claustrophobia-inducing woods, Hahn holds the thriller plot in the background until the book’s second half, focusing throughout on nuanced character relationships, strained and reborn through the tensions of growing up. Main characters cue as white. Ages 8–12.

July 1, 2022
"Pool. Mall. Library." The summer after seventh grade was getting boring until Skylar persuades Abbi to do something different. The best friends ride bikes to the outskirts of town, where they find an old treehouse and claim it as their own private spot to observe the world. Soon they find a mystery happening right below them: every Thursday, two cars park under the tree. A woman wearing huge sunglasses and a wide-brimmed hat exits her car and gets into a man's (they can hear his voice) SUV, which then drives off. One Thursday, however, the woman storms off into the woods after an argument in the SUV. The girls are intrigued but don't connect what they've witnessed to the report that their beloved art teacher is missing. The first half of the novel is deliberately paced, with hints and clues tantalizingly placed; by the time Abbi and Skylar realize what they've seen, readers will be a step ahead of them, witnessing their mistakes and bad decisions. Beyond the mystery is a compelling story of family, friends, bullies, and peer-group conformity. Hahn, who has made a long career of writing thrillers, once again demonstrates how engrossing a good story can be.

(Copyright 2022 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

September 1, 2022
"Pool. Mall. Library." The summer after seventh grade was getting boring until Skylar persuades Abbi to do something different. The best friends ride bikes to the outskirts of town, where they find an old treehouse and claim it as their own private spot to observe the world. Soon they find a mystery happening right below them: every Thursday, two cars park under the tree. A woman wearing huge sunglasses and a wide-brimmed hat exits her car and gets into a man's (they can hear his voice) SUV, which then drives off. One Thursday, however, the woman storms off into the woods after an argument in the SUV. The girls are intrigued but don't connect what they've witnessed to the report that their beloved art teacher is missing. The first half of the novel is deliberately paced, with hints and clues tantalizingly placed; by the time Abbi and Skylar realize what they've seen, readers will be a step ahead of them, witnessing their mistakes and bad decisions. Beyond the mystery is a compelling story of family, friends, bullies, and peer-group conformity. Hahn, who has made a long career of writing thrillers, once again demonstrates how engrossing a good story can be. Dean Schneider

(Copyright 2022 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

September 15, 2022
Two girls get swept up in a murder mystery in their small town. It's a hot summer, and 12-year-old Abbi and her best friend, Skylar, spend their days at the mall, the pool, and the library. When Skylar, the more daring of the duo, decides they should bike to the edge of town, a seedy area where the bullies from their school live, Abbi has reservations but says yes anyway. The discovery of a treehouse makes the journey worthwhile, and things become even more interesting when they spot a mysterious man and woman meeting up just below. Are they Russian spies like Abbi imagines or just regular adults having an affair like Skylar's dad did? The fun mystery turns serious, though, when the woman runs off into the menacing woods. When a beloved teacher goes missing, the friends piece together the information and have to figure out how to help without winding up in trouble with their parents, or worse. The prolific Hahn, particularly known for her eerie ghost stories, stays away from the supernatural in this quick-paced tale but keeps the thrills coming. She expertly captures the feel of a small-town summer and tumultuous middle school friendships and never talks down to young readers or shies away from frank descriptions of real-world threats. Still, an optimistic ending shows there is always light and joy to be found. The protagonists are cued White. A chilling and thrilling addition to a beloved author's oeuvre. (Thriller. 9-13)

COPYRIGHT(2022) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.