β Scribed by Lamar Giles
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
When rising star Paris Secord (aka DJ ParSec) is found dead on her turntables, it sends the local music scene reeling. No one is feeling that grief more than her shunned pre-fame best friend, Kya, and ParSec's chief groupie, Fuse -- two sworn enemies who happened to be the ones who discovered her body.
The police have few leads, and when the trail quickly turns cold, the authorities don't seem to be pushing too hard to investigate further. But nobody counted on Paris's deeply loyal fans, ParSec Nation, or the outrage that would drive Fuse and Kya to work together. As ParSec Nation takes to social media and the streets in their crusade for justice, Fuse and Kya start digging into Paris's past, stumbling across a deadly secret. With new info comes new motives. New suspects. And a fandom that will stop at nothing in their obsessive quest for answers, not even murder...
**
Gr 7 Up-There has never been any love lost between Fatima "Fuse" Fallon and Kya Caine, even though they once shared a best friend, Paris Secord (dj ParSec to her fans). Technology genius Kya was instrumental in helping ParSec develop her sound, and savvy Fuse helped her reach the masses and create her brand. Paris's meteoric rise to fame is cut brutally short, however, when she is murdered before a show. Though Kya and Fuse have both fallen out with Paris, they are pulled back into her orbit when they discover her body. Looking for someone to blame, ParSec's frenzied fans are calling for Kya's and Fuse's blood. In order to clear their names and deliver justice, they have little choice but to work together. While much of this tense thriller focuses on the hunt for a killer, this novel transcends its genre. Alternating first-person chapters reveal the complicated lives of these three brilliant young women and will push readers to contemplate deeper themes, such as media bias, isolation, grief, and conflict resolution. The three narratives successfully create tension and add an intriguing level of dramatic irony, as the girls slowly expose one another's secrets. The three protagonists identify as black, and the supporting characters are a realistic mix of many ethnicities and races. The protagonists are completely different from one another, yet it is in those very differences that most of the tension, as well as the satisfying (and surprising) resolutions lie. VERDICT This highly recommended thriller deserves a spot on every shelf.-Leighanne Law, Scriber Lake High School, WAΞ±(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Praise for Spin
"Not to be missed." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Spin delivers everything you could want in a book: lush, complex characters; a spine-chilling plot; a vividly drawn world; and, best of all, hip hop." --Booklist (starred review)
"This novel transcends its genre." --School Library Journal (starred review)
"Lamar Giles has spun together a fast-paced, music-forward whodunit..." --School Library Connection
"Praise for Overturned
"An utterly compelling whodunit." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Giles, a founding member of We Need Diverse Books and two-time Edgar Award finalist, is in top form, weaving together the threads of his whodunit-and-why and resonantly depicting his characters' home and school lives. As a poker genius Nikki may be a singular sort of teenager, but she's grounded in desires and motivations that make her story as moving as it is thrilling." --New York Times Book Review
"Another Giles winner." --BCCB
"A fast-paced, endlessly intriguing mystery." --Booklist
"Giles excels at pulpy crime drama, including a romance with a wealthy casino heir, scattering a trail of clues and bluffs to keep readers guessing." --Publishers Weekly
A YALSA Top Ten Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers
A Kirkus Best Book of the Year
Praise for Fake ID
"Giles ups the ante of YA witness-protection tales with a chilling foray into a much broader conspiracy, teasing readers with plausible suspects and clever misdirections that play off the tropes of running-from-the-mob stories." --BCCB (starred review)
"Fast action, judicious plot twists, and sufficiently evil teens and adults should keep thrill-seeking readers awake long into the night." --Kirkus Reviews
"Conspiracy theorists and thriller fans alike will be guessing right up to the end of this exciting debut." --Booklist
A YALSA Top Ten Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers
Edgar Award Finalist
Praise for Endangered
"Frequent plot twists and short, fast-moving sentences keep tension high. Suspenseful and often wise." --Kirkus Reviews
"Giles writes a fast-paced, gripping suspense novel with an engaging whodunit mystery." --VOYA
"Giles crafts an unpredictable psychological thriller filled with murky choices and colorful characters." --Publishers Weekly
"This title delivers another skillfully devised plot, supported by a fully fleshed cast whose identities ... complicate but do not solely define their characters." --BCCB
*Edgar Award Finalist*****
**
Praise for Overturned
"An utterly compelling whodunit."--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Giles, a founding member of We Need Diverse Books and two-time Edgar Award finalist, is in top form, weaving together the threads of his whodunit-and-why and resonantly depicting his characters' home and school lives. As a poker genius Nikki may be a singular sort of teenager, but she's grounded in desires and motivations that make her story as moving as it is thrilling."--New York Times Book Review
"Another Giles winner."--BCCB
"A fast-paced, endlessly intriguing mystery."--Booklist
"Giles excels at pulpy crime drama, including a romance with a wealthy casino heir, scattering a trail of clues and bluffs to keep readers guessing."--Publishers Weekly
A YALSA Top Ten Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers
Praise for Fake ID
"Giles ups the ante of YA witness-protection tales with a chilling foray into a much broader conspiracy, teasing readers with plausible suspects and clever misdirections that play off the tropes of running-from-the-mob stories."--BCCB (starred review)
"Fast action, judicious plot twists, and sufficiently evil teens and adults should keep thrill-seeking readers awake long into the night."--Kirkus Reviews
"Conspiracy theorists and thriller fans alike will be guessing right up to the end of this exciting debut."--Booklist
A YALSA Top Ten Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers
Edgar Award Finalist
Praise for Endangered
"Frequent plot twists and short, fast-moving sentences keep tension high. Suspenseful and often wise."--Kirkus Reviews
"Giles writes a fast-paced, gripping suspense novel with an engaging whodunit mystery."--VOYA
"Giles crafts an unpredictable psychological thriller filled with murky choices and colorful characters."--Publishers Weekly
"This title delivers another skillfully devised plot, supported by a fully fleshed cast whose identities . . . complicate but do not solely define their characters."--BCCB
*Edgar Award Finalist*****
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