Thursday, January 26, 2017

The Girl in the Picture by Alexandra Monir - ESSENTIAL

Monir, Alexandra The Girl in the Picture, 260 pages.  Delacorte, 2016.  $18.  Language: PG-13 (17 swears, 0 ‘f’); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG (some blood).

When Chace Porter is murdered, the picture in his wallet is not of his girlfriend Lana, the daughter of a U.S. Senator, but of someone else completely different – Nicole, the quiet, geeky music nerd.  Why would Chace carry her picture?  Why did she murder him – if she did?  No one is on Nicole’s side in this drama, in fact everyone is quick to point accusing fingers in her direction.  Help to clear her name will only come from the most unlikely of sources.

Monir masterfully draws out all of the possible drama in this situation without venturing into the melodramatic, titillating, or resorting to sensational violence.  There is a slight ghostly presence throughout the book, but it is mainly a support, not a means to the end.  Is there any genre she can’t write?  I don’t think so; I sincerely hope she has many more books to share.

MS, HS – ESSENTIAL.  Cindy, Library Teacher

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