The Little Woods

Gr 10 Up–St. Bede’s Academy is one of the most prestigious boarding schools in California. It is also the place where Calista Wood’s older sister, Clare, disappeared 10 years earlier. Half way through her junior year, Cally finds herself navigating the world of brilliant and wealthy teenagers at the academy on a full scholarship. Iris, a beautiful student, has recently and mysteriously gone missing, much like Clare. Cally thinks there may be a connection and she delves into the secrets of the school and the surrounding woods. “Sometimes it seemed to me that a fine curtain hung between St. Bede’s and those woods, and that if I could only find a way through it….I could find Clare.” Cally is off-beat and likable. The student body includes the typical cast of mean girls, hot guys, and provocative teachers that keeps the plot moving along. However, the teen cliques; love triangles; and wild parties with sex, alcohol, and drugs makes the story feel like it has been done and done again. The ending is exciting but predictable. Purchase in libraries with insatiable mystery readers.