Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 8 Up--There is something for everyone across these six novels in verse. Songs for the Offseason is about a young man coping with a summer of unbearable loss. Take a Sad Song (yes, that's a Beatles reference) is an inspired-by-a-true-story tale of a young girl sentenced to boarding school. The other books feature young people atoning for the mistakes of their ancestors, fighting demons, surviving a home break-in, and navigating a hostile space colony. The structure lends itself well to the rapid pace of the stories, although, some of the books feel more like prose novels with creative line breaks than stories told in verse. The titles that grapple with complex emotions like loss, identity, and shame are the strongest. The fantasy, sci-fi, and suspense are weaker, but welcome additions to the stories in this format. VERDICT Songs for the Offseason and Take a Sad Song are highlights in this series, but all are worth a try.
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
This suspenseful novel in verse for reluctant readers uncovers a small-town secret and considers the ties that bind the living with the beyond. Sixteen-year-old Moe is unhappy with her parents' decision to spend the summer in a quaint lakeside cottage that's filled with spiderwebs and located near a town marked by a tragic history. She doesn't want to be away from her best friends, Amber and Julia, who are bonding at camp counselor training without her. One day, as she's exploring the lake, Moe meets a young boy named Zeke, who shows her a cave where she finds an oddly shaped key attached to a rusty chain. Soon afterward, Moe begins to experience disruptive visions of a girl from the past. Emotionally shaken and isolated, Moe begins to doubt her friends' reliability. Trying to understand the strange girl's secrets, she seeks clues at the local library and embarks on a quest with Zeke to solve the town's mysteries. Moe's visions reveal tensions involving a trio of girls from the 1950s that mirror her present-day concerns; she worries that distance will rupture the bond she shares with Amber and Julia. Layered with anxieties about self-doubt and friendship challenges, this satisfying story delivers quick pacing and an emotional core with wide appeal. A gently mounting tension serves as the backdrop for discovery, and realism anchors Moe's visions. Characters largely read white. A bingeable mystery.(Verse mystery. 13-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
