Review by Booklist Review
Cade finds the terrified, bleeding girl lying in the cornstalks on his family's farm in Tanner, Texas, a forlorn place not far from the Mexican border. She will not give her name, forcing Cade to dub her Jane Doe, and she has just one request: Hide me. Cade's life has its own measure of desperation. His mother ran off with a crooked cop, and his alcoholic father is prone to violent rages. So, against all good reason, he hides Jane in the barn. Gradually, Cade learns that Jane is running from some very dangerous people involved in the drug trade across the border. As a genuine bond develops between the two lonely teens, they concoct a story to allow Jane to attend high school with Cade, masquerading as his cousin. Tension builds as a cold-blooded drug boss gets closer to finding Jane, threatening her new friends and their families. There's startling violence, appropriate to the situation but nonetheless disturbing. Short chapters and plenty of gritty action make this a good recommendation for fans of Paul Griffin or Roland Smith.--Diane Colson Copyright 2018 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 8 Up--Seventeen-year-old Cade finds a badly injured girl on his family's farm in a small Texas border town. He and his childhood friend, Mateo, stitch up the girl's wounds and nurse her back to health in an old barn. "Jane Doe" reluctantly agrees to stay with Cade and hide in plain sight by enrolling in high school. A romance buds, and Jane hesitantly reveals that she got mixed up with a drug cartel and is being hunted by a drug lord called the Wolf Cub. Cade, Jane, and their friends and family become tangled in Jane's web of past and present lies and must band together to survive. Narrator Pete Cross masters a Southern accent without turning Cade or his alcoholic father into stereotypes. Without missing a beat, Cross transitions to narrating a sociopathic drug lord with a heart of ice and a penchant for philosophical musings. Lauren Ezzo has incredible diction and captures Jane's cagey internal and external dialogue. She also reads JoJo, Mateo's sassy and headstrong older sister, who is easily one of the most lovable characters in the book. VERDICT Fantastic narration coupled with a compelling plot will leave readers quickly devouring the short chapters to find out what happens next. The ending, however, is somewhat abrupt (considering the lengthy buildup), and the backyard militia approach to taking down the drug cartel is far-fetched and ill-advised.--April Everett, China Grove, NC
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
When Cade stumbles upon a girl half-dead in his family's Texas-border cornfield, he heeds her request to hide her. Cade enlists best friend Mateo's help, and the boys enfold Jane Doe in their world of football games and dances. But Jane is certain her past with a Mexican drug cartel will catch up with her. High-school romance mingles with dark suspense in Banerjee's debut novel. (c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Drug cartel violence spills across the border, forever changing the lives of teens in the small town of Tanner, Texas, in Banerjee's debut novel.Cade seems to be the classic boy next doorfarmer's son and star quarterbackwhen he stumbles upon a young woman with piercing blue eyes clinging to life in his family's corn field. Cade is understanding of Jane Doe's desire to keep her violent past a secret and vows to help her find freedom, but the more involved he becomes, the less either of them can hide the truth of their lives. The simmering affection between Cade and Jane adds a strong romantic subplot to a novel which otherwise reads like a thriller. However, several details of the setting ring false, likely distracting readers familiar with Texas. The pacing is also awkward at times, as violence strikes early and often, making it difficult to maintain the suspense, and a weekend tryst on South Padre Island does little to advance plot or characterization. Though the book takes on tough issues surrounding drug cartels, alcoholism, and foster care, to name a few, the issues with setting and plot make the story too clunky for these to shine. Cade and Jane both read as white, though there are many strong Latinx supporting characters, including Cade's best friend, Mateo.A rough cut in need of sharper editing to truly make the facets shine. (Thriller. 14-18) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
