Waite (Shopaholic
) once again intelligently probes the adolescent mind for this suspenseful novel centering on two teen misfits. Erin, a girl with a passion and talent for magic tricks, meets Matt one day and falls in love at first sight ("He was bone thin and beautiful," she remarks). But Matt has eyes for Kirsty, a sexy, complicated girl whose older boyfriend Billy had bullied Matt for years before. Matt observes Billy's ill treatment of Erin and begins to think of himself as her "Pied Piper." Through Matt and Erin's alternating first-person narratives, a taut psychological tale unfolds. Matt visits Erin at her home, and while she performs a trick, she sneaks Matt a note on one of her playing cards ("I like you. Lots"). But through a series of plot twists, Matt assumes the note is from Kirsty. At times readers may grow impatient with the overlapping narratives, which often relate the same events with only minor shifts of perspective. But the structure grows in importance as the novel proceeds. The author aptly lays the foundation for the two narrators' myopic view of the world; both struggle with the aftereffects of an absent father and cruel peers. The novel takes a dark, spellbinding turn when Kirsty comes up missing. Readers will want to flip back to the beginning for hints at how Erin and Matt's story ends, and will discover upon rereading, just how well Waite plants her clues. Ages 12-up. (Feb.)
