Suspicion

Title- Suspicion

Author- Kate Brian

ISBN -1416958851

Publication Information- Simon and Schuster, 2009

 

Plot Summary- Reed and her wealthy friends go to St. Barths for winter vacation. All the girls "dream guy", Upton falls for Reed. However, a series of attempts on her life begin to plague her (again). Her horse tries to throw her, her jet ski explodes. She gets pushed off a boat and kidnapped for six days. She eventually discovers that Mrs. Ryan is behind the whole debacle and finds herself attacked once again.

Critical Evaluation- This is the tenth book in the Private series. Having not read the others, I was a bit lost, but the book does move very quickly. It starts with her stranded in the water and moves quickly from there. The character is either an incredible survivor or the most unlucky human being ever to exist. She is constantly under attack. The additional great selling option of these novels is her use of the cliff-hanger, not only from chapter to chapter, but also from book to book. This book picks up precisely where the previous left off and sets itself to continue in the next novel. For girls, these novels deal strongly with issues of jealously, and loyalty amongst girls, especially friends in groups where loyalty is often challenged and moves with the secrets of their lives.

 

Reader's Annotation- Reed has Upton fawning over her at every turn, but someone is set on making sure she is out of the picture- for good.

Author Information- Kate Brian is a pen name for Kieran Scott (which I think is a much nicer name). She has published several series of books all of which fall under the chick-lit category of young adult literature. Her life reads as if it could have come from one of her series. She grew up as a singer, cheerleader, and actress in New Jersey.

Curricular Ties- none

Genre- mystery, romance

Book talking ideas- What predictions can you make about Billings House? Why is Reed always the center of attention with the boys in the series?

Challenge issues- Violence

1. Re-read the text to familiarize myself with the story
   
2. Ask parents for their specific objections (they are required to file that with our school district)
   
3. Review approved books list from California Department of Education for similar materials
   
4. Review approaches from ALA
   

Interest Age- 15-18

Why I selected this piece-. Several of my teenage girls swear by it. This is one of the books that was donated to my class library. The school library cannot keep them in stock so I couldn't read the first one.