cover image Utopia, Iowa

Utopia, Iowa

Brian Yansky. Candlewick, $17.99 (336p) ISBN 978-0-7636-6533-3

Utopia, Iowa, is filled with people who have special abilities. Jack Bell talks to dead people, his neighbor can see and predict events with his glass eye, and the local college offers courses in mind-reading, teleportation, and the like. When Jack, a fledgling high school screenwriter, is visited by a recently deceased Nirvana College student, he learns that she does not remember how she died. Along with best friend Ash, Jack investigates, but soon another girl is murdered, and Jack is threatened by the head of Nirvana College and lead detective Bloodsmith, Jack’s mother’s ex-boyfriend. Yansky (Alien Invasion and Other Inconveniences) weaves two separate stories together, and Jack’s dilemma is gradually understood to be part of a much larger (and dangerous) otherworld scheme. Descriptions are initially lackluster (“There is no silence like a room full of silent people”) and Jack’s frequent film references are distracting, but the mysterious deaths and Jack’s concern over his parents’ possible divorce contribute intensity to the latter half of the novel. Yansky’s climactic ending leaves many loose strings, suggesting a sequel to come. Ages 14–up. Agent: Sara Crowe, Harvey Klinger. (Feb.)