The Book of Laney

Gr 10 Up—Laney Kates is surrounded by family secrets, and she is haunted by their consequences. Her angry older brother West and his Taliban-obsessed best friend went on a murderous rampage that ended in the wounding of 12 people and the deaths of six, including Laney's mother. After the tragedy, Laney is sent to live in the Adirondacks with her grandmother. There she gathers her secrets close to her, not wanting to be known in school as the girl whose brother is a murderer. As the teen heals from the emotional wounds from the horrific event, she begins to have visions of her grandmother, long-dead father, mother, West, and even Marshall, the boy she loves. Laney must decide if she will use her knowledge from these visions to hurt or to heal. While there is a need for teen books that address the aftermath of school violence, unfortunately there are too many plot threads in this title. Laney's journey through grief and shame is enough to carry the story—once the vision plotline is thrown in, the narrative begins to waver. The characters are fascinating: the grandmother living off the grid, the girl who must navigate life after her brother's deadly choice, the jock with a surprising secret, the young mother who loves her children but doesn't know how to parent them. But none of these figures come alive or ever leap off the page.