Wish You Were Dead

Gr 8—11—Madison Archer and the students of Soundview High are beginning to be afraid. She and Tyler dropped Lucy off at her front door and now she's missing. An anonymous blogger had written that Lucy and other students who think that they are better than everyone else should be punished—and now no one knows what happened to Lucy. Soon Lucy's boyfriend also goes missing, and then another student. Madison is thrown into the middle with anonymous emails hinting that that she could be next. Who can she trust? Emily Bauer narrates Todd Strasser's thriller (EgmontUSA, 2010) that blends in social-networking strategies with the perfect amount of teen anguish. The voices of the teenagers are spot-on, but the blogger's email voice and the kidnapper's taunts aren't as distinctive and strong as the text implies. The sense of madness and the build-up of fear are lacking. The adult voices are just mediocre, and it is sometimes difficult to distinguish who is speaking. However, the story setting, the rich kids, the missing students, the blogger, and the gripping mystery will captivate listeners.—Anita Lawson, Otsego High School, MI