A World of Trouble

Gr 4–7—After his first semester at Kilter Academy for Troubled Youth, 12-year-old Seamus Hinkle is reeling from the revelation that the teacher he supposedly killed is actually alive and well. No longer a murderer, Seamus is sure he won't have to go back to Kilter, yet his mother is more determined than ever that he return. Stranger still, she seems to know that the institution is not really a reform school, but rather a training facility for future Troublemakers. Seamus agrees to go back and rejoins his alliance of friends and his tutor. He continues to excel as a Troublemaker, and the academy's director gives him a special mission. But the boy's focus is quickly usurped by his concern for his missing classmate and crush, Elinor. Seamus is sure there is more to her absence than a vague "family emergency" and is determined to find her. A lot is going on in this sequel to The Bad Apple (S & S, 2012), and readers unfamiliar with that book will be lost. As with the first, Seamus's emails to Miss Parsippany, the teacher he thought he killed, reveal much about his thoughts and feelings. Decisions he makes about whom to trust and what kind of person he wants to be will impact the future of Kilter Academy. Supporting characters get a little more development by the end of this title, but readers expecting the myriad mysteries to be solved will be frustrated as most are left dangling for future books.—Amanda Raklovits, Champaign Public Library, IL