The Leak

Petty (True Story, for adults) and Bell (the Diary of a 5th Grade Outlaw series) dedicate this tale of a 12-year-old muckraker to “the people of Flint, Michigan,” whose city’s past provides real-world subtext for this tale. Aspiring journalist Ruth Keller is dedicated to her craft, reading as much news as she can and producing an online newsletter. Minor scandals, such as “the graffiti of the big penis that someone keeps doing on the school wall,” are Ruth’s bread and butter until the day she and a friend discover tar and a dead fish on their small town’s lake shore. Ruth initiates an exposé and shares the scoop with her brother’s girlfriend, a New York Times intern who cautions against leaping to conclusions and mentors Ruth in conducting revealing interviews—leading to a galvanizing resolution that recommends persistence and honesty. Bell’s color-drenched panels, lined in crayonlike textures, portray confident Ruth as a biracial heroine who chases down leads and navigates the murky waters of middle school relationships. Petty, meanwhile, mines investigative journalism, detailing its rules (“Check your biases”) and concluding with an insistent afterword on journalistic integrity. Ages 8–12. [em](Mar.) [/em]