The Hidden Agenda of Sigrid Sugden

Gr 6–10—This follow-up to The Nine Lives of Travis Keating (2008) and The Present Tense of Prinny Murphy (2010, both Fitzhenry & Whiteside) focuses on the Shrikes-the trio of bullies who terrorize Prinny and her classmates with fists and blackmail. When the harassment goes too far, putting Prinny's life in danger, Sigrid goes against her friends to get help. She now becomes a target of the bullying, and her former victims do not wish to befriend her. Without bullying to let the mean out, Sigrid must confront the realities of her home life-absent parents and a stepfather who is there for her, but is dealing with his own issues. The narrator has always known her behavior was wrong, and her attempts to fix it repeatedly fail, but in her small Newfoundland village, they don't go unnoticed and slowly she's grudgingly accepted by others. The adults are partially ineffectual-mostly because the Shrikes knew how to not get caught-but they do try. Slowly the girl finds new truths about her classmates as she walks the uneasy path away from bullying. Sigrid's motivations and growth are believable and heartbreaking. The novel stands on its own merits, but kids will want to read the previous books to learn more about the lives and stories of the protagonist's classmates.—Jennifer Rothschild, Arlington County Public Libraries, VA