My Side

McClintock dissects a violent cyber-bullying incident from the viewpoints of the victim and an associate of the perpetrators in a gripping entry to the Orca Soundings series, written at a fourth-grade reading level. Chronically shy and now traumatized, Addie describes her nerve-wracking return to high school following a terrifying prank played on her by her former best friend and a group of girls, which they filmed and emailed to the entire student body. In the book’s second section, Neely, Addie’s old BFF, explains what really happened. Though the story ends abruptly, without real resolution, McClintock builds realistic and frightening suspense, and the girls’ accounts deliver intense emotion to which teens can relate. Ages 12–up. (Sept.)