Wednesday, January 25, 2023

What We Saw: A Thriller by Mary Downing Hahn - ADVISABLE

What We Saw: A Thriller
by Mary Downing Hahn
, 208 pages. Clarion (Clarion Books). 2022. $18. 

Language: G (3 swears 0 'f'); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG (description of violence - not on-page, also peril). 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ADVISABLE 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE 

12yo Abbi and Skylar live across the street from each other and have been best friends since 3rd grade. It's the summer between 7th and 8th grade and the girls discover an abandoned tree house in a "bad" part of town, the perfect place to read on a hot day. When a couple of cars drive up, and they overhear what sounds like a meeting between a man and a woman, Abbi takes pictures of the cars and their license plates - in case they are spies or something. But when one of the meetings turns into a fight and the woman runs into the woods, Abbi and Skylar think they may have important information that could help solve a murder. 

I was thrilled to see a new Mary Downing Hahn - my students can't get enough of her books, and while this isn't a creepy ghost story, it's certainly an exciting murder mystery. There are some bullies their age that are pretty scary, as well as some dangerous adults. Note: I listened to the audiobook while reading along with the ebook and there were some pointed differences - the chapters didn't line up, as well as additional or missing text and some scenes played out much differently. 

Lisa Librarian 

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