Are You Still There?

Gr 9 Up—Gabriella, poster child for the perfect high school-age daughter and college bound student, stands barefoot on a public toilet for three hours while her suburban school is on lockdown for a bomb threat. No one knows who planted it, and everyone is a suspect. The school creates an anonymous crisis call center made up of students from all the different social stratas. Gabi becomes friends with people she might never have talked to before. As more teens begin to use the call center, she realizes that there are more miserable people in her school than she ever would have guessed. She also begins to suspect that the bomber is somehow connected to her. This well-written story focuses on the bystanders, who don't actively do anything wrong but neither do they help. Interspersed between the chapters is the "Stranger's Manifesto," pages written in verse by the person who planted the bomb. Added into the mix are Gabi's father, who is a detective; her sister, who has always hung out with the students on the fringes of high school society; and her mother, who is a nervous woman striving for control of everything. The pacing moves quickly, adding information and fleshing out characters along the way. Reluctant readers will stay with this one as they try to figure out who really planted the bomb.