Review By: Corinne Blair
Author: Cindy L. Otis
Published: 2023, Scholastic Press
Genre: Realistic Fiction, Thriller, Mystery, Contemporary, Social Media, Disability
Audience: 9, 10, 11, 12
Triggers: None
Summary: Quinn Calvet was supposed to be having an epic year. She had all kinds of plans with her best friend, Ximena, and sister, Ava, and to grow her following as an influencer on The Whine. Instead, Quinn finds herself third wheel to Ximena and her new boyfriend or getting ditched by Ava who has turned into an overachiever, obsessed with studying and joining every school club. It brings up Quinn’s old feelings that her disability has her left behind. She tries to talk to Ava about it, but she’s too busy with the newest club at school, Defend Kids, which is working frantically to help find two kids who were recently kidnapped from a nearby town.
Suddenly, Defend Kids is all anyone is talking about, and whenever Quinn posts about them on The Whine, she gains tons of new followers and her posts go viral. As the club works to get the message out, more kids in the surrounding area go missing, but it seems like the police and the media aren’t doing much about it. When two of Quinn’s classmates are kidnapped, the dangers that Defend Kids are trying to fight become all too real. As Quinn and her friends search for the missing kids, tensions escalate at school, there’s an uptick in bullying, and conspiracy theories abound. Before she knows it, Quinn and The Whine are at the center of it all, trying to find out what’s really happening. Only the truth might be more deadly than anyone knows…
Review: This book was an intriguing thriller that dove into the world of fake news, conspiracy theories, and the blurred lines between truth and lies. Quinn Calvet is a high school student who becomes entangled in a web of misinformation when a tragic incident at her school leads to a cascade of dangerous rumors and half-truths. As a reader, I felt the anxiety and paranoia felt by the main character when her reality was manipulated by false narratives. The premise is timely and relevant, particularly in an era where social media plays a significant role in young adult’s lives. I found it interesting that the author was also a former CIA analyst. She brought authenticity to the story’s exploration of misinformation. At times though I found it confusing a bit. This is NOT what I thought it would be! I thought it would be more about the mystery of missing kids and then there were all of these conspiracies and it took a totally different turn than I expected. I did love that it was set in Canandaigua, NY! I grew up about 25 minutes from there so it was neat to read about familiar places like shops and it mentioned Geneva, Ithaca, Rochester, Finger Lakes, I loved that! It helped me understand the setting a lot more since I am familiar with the area. The story was entertaining but I didn’t love it. I didn’t truly feel connected to any character as I feel like character development lacked a bit. I did think it was important that the main character was in a wheelchair, she suffered from The pace dragged on and I felt it took too long to reach the climax and then it was over! At times some of it seemed a bit too far fetched as well. It left me wondering what was next so maybe there will be a sequel?
