Teen Tuesday: I am Made of Death by Kelly Andrew

Image: Scholastic Inc.

I am Made of Death by Kelly Andrew. 368 p. Scholastic Press/ Scholastic Inc., March, 2025. 9781546104483. Review of finished copy courtesy of publisher.

Teen Tuesday features I am Made of Death by Kelly Andrew.

Thomas Walsh has been working odd jobs ever since having to leave college to support his chronically ill, deaf mother. He interviews for a job with a wealthy businessman as an ASL interpreter for his daughter. The job is a good distance away, but the pay would go a long way towards helping the family financially. 

Vivienne has been mute since her disappearance at age four which left her traumatized. What most people don't know is that she is possessed and if she does speak, anyone who hears her voice dies. Of course, Thomas does not know this. Her parents are controlling and keep her on a short leash and Vivienne is determined to make Thomas' job difficult. 

This horror/ romance hits the ground running and doesn't let up! Chapters switch point of view between Thomas and Vivienne breathlessly. Tension is high throughout this page-turner and is sure to please high school fans of horror with a side of romance. 

Middle Grade Monday and Audiobook Review: All Ears by Stuart Gibbs

Image: Simon & Schuster

All Ears by Stuart Gibbs. FunJungle #9. Unabridged e-audio, ~8 hours. Read by Gibson Frazier. Simon & Schuster Audio, May, 2025. 9781668134696. Review of audiobook borrowed from pubic library.

Middle Grade Monday features All Ears by Stuart Gibbs. This ninth installment does not disappoint. Teddy Fitzroy and his father have been called to investigate an elephant that went missing from a nearby ranch. While there, Teddy receives a call from his best friend, Xavier, who was arrested for trespassing and vandalism on a construction site. His loyalty is divided. His best friend is understandably upset and wants him to come immediately, but he needs to look for clues while they are still fresh. This causes some friction between the two.

As usual, Gibbs weaves a environmental themes (habitat loss, big-game hunting) in with plenty of suspense as well as humor. These plot-driven mysteries remain fresh and fun. 

I had forgotten my promise not to read these with my ears. The narrator is serviceable, but this first-person narrative is told by a teenager, and the voice in my ears is clearly adult.

Teen Tuesday and Audiobook Review: You'll Be the Death of Me by Karen M. McManus

Image: Penguin Random House

You'll Be the Death of Me by Karen M. McManus. Unabridged e-audiobook, ~10 hours. Read by Rachel L. Jacobs, Anthony Rey Perez, Max Meyers and Malik Rashad. Listening Library/ Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group, November, 2021. 9780593208359. (Review of e-audiobook borrowed from the public library.)

Happy Tuesday! Teen Tuesday features You'll Be the Death of Me by Karen M. McManus. The queen of YA mystery/ thrillers is back with another whodunnit that will thrill her many fans at my school. High-strung, over-achieving Ivy Sterling-Shepherd has just lost the student council election to slacker Brian, Bony, Mahoney and she just can't bear to face attending the assembly where he will accept the position. She runs into her two former best friends in the high school parking lot and the three decide to skip school for the day to drive into Boston. They are going to try and recreate "The Best Day Ever," when they ditched a school field trip to hang out in seventh grade. They remained fast friends until high school, where they drifted apart. Cal is bummed that his "maybe girlfriend" stood him up and Mateo is beat from having to work three jobs to help support his ailing mother. The three are cautiously reconnecting in Boston when they spy Bony, or someone who looks just like him crossing the street. Ivy decides to confront him and gets up to follow, leaving the boys wondering what to do. When they finally catch up to her in an abandoned building, she's frozen in shock, staring at a dead body. It's Bony. The police are coming. The three are in the wrong place at the wrong time, and each has something to hide, so they run.

The pace is pulse-pounding as the POV shifts between Ivy, Cal and Mateo, leaving the reader guessing until the very end. As with all of Ms. McManus' books there is a high creep factor making this suitable for more mature teen readers. The audio performances were well-paced, with each performer nailing the teen voice and attitude. 

Teen Tuesday: Girl, Stolen by April Henry

Girl, Stolen by April Henry. 224 p. Henry Holt and Co. (BYR), September, 2010. 9780805090055.

Today's Teen Tuesday feature is a title that was recommended by a sixth grade student. Sixteen-year-old Cheyenne Wilder is sleeping in the back of her step-mother's car while she pops into the pharmacy to pick up antibiotics for Cheyenne's newly diagnosed pneumonia. Griffin is under instructions to steal a car for his father and his criminal cronies. When he discovers Cheyenne in the backseat, he's worried that his dad will do something drastic until his dad learns that Cheyenne's father is rich. He decides to hold her for ransom instead. Complicating matters is the fact that Cheyenne is blind. She's also in very grave danger. Tension ratchets up as things go wrong. You may need to read this suspenseful novel in one sitting!

I happened to read this one with my ears four years ago. It is exactly the type of book I cannot stand reading because of the suspense. It was especially hard reading it with my ears despite the excellent performance by Kate Rudd because I couldn't read ahead! There is a sequel out called, Count All Her Bones which I may have to read though I get the willies just reading the synopsis.

Teen Tuesday: Thornhill by Pam Smy

Thornhill by Pam Smy. 544 p. Roaring Brook Press, August, 2017. 9781626726543. (Review from purchased finished copy)

If you enjoy graphic novel hybrids or gothic horror, check out our Teen Tuesday feature. Thornhill by Pam Smy. Two stories are told in this debut, one in pictures and one in prose. The pictures take place in the present time and the prose is the diary of a girl who resided at Thornhill back in the days when it was an orphanage. It's a boarded up dilapidated wreck now but Ella, who has just moved in across the street spies a girl in the upstairs window and, because she is lonely, investigates.

This one is dark, creepy and disturbing. Dread grows as the diary entries unfold and the visual story is equally suspenseful, helped along by the tones of black and shadows. Atmospheric and a perfect choice to lure a dormant reader.

Two Heist Novels from Scholastic

It's tough to pull off a great heist, be it in real life, in the movies or in a book. Careful plotting and unbearable suspense are required in all three, which is why I usually read heist books in one sitting and can't watch heist movies in theaters because I get jittery and have to move around. This past summer, Scholastic released two from authors whose work I have enjoyed.

Loot by Jude Watson. 266 p. Scholastic Press, June, 2014. 9780545468022. (Finished copy courtesy of publisher for review.)

Even though the book opens with the main character's father plunging to his death and real menace threatens him, his sister and two cohorts at every turn, the tone is almost flippant or jaunty. I was tempted to tag the book humorous. I guess that's due to March and his gang's bravado. They truly responded poorly to adult authority. The dialogue was often laugh-out-loud funny but the suspense and the mystery kept a certain level of tension that slowly ratcheted up. That, and the non-stop action keeps the reader riveted and turning the pages as fast as possible. There's a curse, nefarious adults, nightmares involving falling from a cliff, and a cliff. Irresistible.

March's dad's dying words were, "Find jewels." Leading March to believe that he needed to find, you know, jewels. After all, Alfie was a jewel thief of international stature. March rarely attended school what with all the need to leave a variety of countries quickly. He's shocked to learn that it isn't jewels he needs to find, but Jewels, the twin sister he never knew he had. And she's none to pleased to learn about him. Nor does she mince words about her feelings for their dad. It seems that when they were small, Alfie, his wife and another partner in crime stole some cursed moonstones. Alfie's wife drowned, the partner was nabbed and imprisoned and Alfie got away, only something terrible would happen to the twins before their thirteenth birthday.

The Great Greene Heist by Varian Johnson. 240 p. Scholastic Inc. May, 2014. 9780545525527. (Finished copy courtesy of publisher for review.)

Jackson Greene is the king of the con at his school. Only, this year, he's gone straight after executing a legendary con the previous spring. His principal knows he's the culprit but has no proof and it's just killing him. To say he's gunning for Jackson is an understatement.

Jackson may have to come out of retirement though. He gets wind that his arch-nemisis, Keith Sinclair, Mr. Sinclair and Principal Kelsey are conspiring to rig the student council election. Since his former, almost girlfriend, Gaby is running and has some great ideas, Jackson can't just stand by and do nothing. 

It's all a bit over-the-top but it's pure fun with memorable characters, whip-fast dialogue and plenty of hilarity. Sure to please most middle grade readers but definitely seek out those dreaded reluctant readers and offer this one.

I book talked both these titles on Friday and have a waiting list as long as my arm so I'll be purchasing more copies.