Spin

Gr 7 Up–There has never been any love lost between Fatima "Fuse" Fallon and Kya Caine, even though they once shared a best friend, Paris Secord (dj ParSec to her fans). Technology genius Kya was instrumental in helping ParSec develop her sound, and savvy Fuse helped her reach the masses and create her brand. Paris's meteoric rise to fame is cut brutally short, however, when she is murdered before a show. Though Kya and Fuse have both fallen out with Paris, they are pulled back into her orbit when they discover her body. Looking for someone to blame, ParSec's frenzied fans are calling for Kya's and Fuse's blood. In order to clear their names and deliver justice, they have little choice but to work together. While much of this tense thriller focuses on the hunt for a killer, this novel transcends its genre. Alternating first-person chapters reveal the complicated lives of these three brilliant young women and will push readers to contemplate deeper themes, such as media bias, isolation, grief, and conflict resolution. The three narratives successfully create tension and add an intriguing level of dramatic irony, as the girls slowly expose one another's secrets. The three protagonists identify as black, and the supporting characters are a realistic mix of many ethnicities and races. The protagonists are completely different from one another, yet it is in those very differences that most of the tension, as well as the satisfying (and surprising) resolutions lie.