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This month The Edge of the Forest reviews Young Adult fiction that
turns the mystery on its head. We've got an interactive mystery (Cathy's Book), a mystery on the high seas
(Piratica), and a mystery with a troublesome protagonist (The Murder of Bindy MacKenzie). Enjoy!
Cathy's Book: If Found Call (650) 266-8233
by Sean Steward and Jordan Weisman
Reviewed by Liz Burns, A Chair, a Fireplace and a Tea Cozy
First things first: you may have heard about Cathy's Book pre-publication because of product placement. The
makeup that gets mentioned, though, is barely noticeable—other books mention many more brand names than get mentioned here. If I
didn't know about the controversy, I wouldn’t have even noticed.
Second things second: Cathy's Book advertises itself as an "original interactive teen book." Does it deliver?
Absolutely: it's a believable teenage girl's diary; it's a fast paced adventure; and it's a
lot of fun. The packaging (more on that below) easily could have been a gimmick—instead, it works to create a full,
realistic story.
Hold Cathy's Book in your hands, and it looks like a sketchbook. Open it up and there is a clear envelope of
"proof" on the left-hand side and the sketchbook on the right. Do I read the book, which is full of doodles and sketches?
Do I open the envelope and see what's inside? There are phone numbers and websites—what about those?
Let's start with the book. It begins on January 30, and ends February 9th. Victor has broken up with Cathy, and she wants to know
why. She's the type of girl who wants an answer, so she goes to Victor's house. And it's not really breaking in if the
door is unlocked, right? What she finds leads her to a much bigger mystery than why Victor dumped her. If the book existed
just as the book—a smart, funny Veronica Mars/ Buffyesque teenage girl stubbornly solves a mystery—it would be a
simple fun read.
But the book doesn't stop with the text. And this ups the enjoyment. Remember that envelope? Remember all those phone
numbers and websites? Your pick what to explore first; and just how much, and how deep, you want to go.
The envelope is full of the items Cathy picks up as she investigates first Victor and then a murder: photos, newspaper
clippings, a birth certificate, a menu. The book isn't annotated. In no place does it say "stop now and look at the
matching item." That's left to the reader. Interactive, remember? The book isn't dictating the story. I felt like
Cathy as I poured over the "proof," noting things she didn't.
The phone numbers and websites give more opportunities to become Cathy, and one of the websites,
www.doubletalkwireless.com, contains full color copies of everything
in the evidence bag, plus other things Cathy has discovered. (So all you librarians who are worried about the items
surviving check out, have the website and password handy; the proof will always exist virtually.)
I've long wondered when authors would take real advantage of the Internet for storytelling. Not just the internet, but
modern computers for publishing allow the cool envelope of stuff to be included with the book. There's been more and more
use of the Internet recently, with playlists and character blogs. But Cathy's Book takes it to a new level, and
I'm a bit annoyed that the whole product placement thing has stopped a conversation on the fascinating way this story is
told. The reader becomes part of the story, because of the items and because of the Internet sites and phone numbers.
These are not just "extra" items—they give additional information and depth and also allow the reader to discover
things Cathy hasn't. At the same time, the story works regardless of how little, or how much, the reader wishes to
explore. It's no surprise, then, that one of the authors, Jordan Weisman, is a video game developer. Many modern computer
games are not just "games," they also tell stories that must work regardless of the player's choices.
Piratica (Being a Daring Tale of a Singular Girl's Adventure Upon the High Seas)
by Tanith Lee
Reviewed by Jocelyn Pearce, Teen Book Review
Piratica is an engaging story of a sixteen-year-old girl who, after regaining her childhood memories, sets off to
be a pirate. Artemesia, or Art as she prefers to be called, spent six years learning how to be a lady before she hit her
head on a banister and remembered her mother, who had died when Art was only ten.
What Art remembers is a life at sea. She remembers her mother, the pirate captain Piratica, her mother's crew, their
enemies, and their ship. For six years, after a cannon exploded and knocked it out of her, Art remembered none of this. To
have it all come rushing back like that is a bit of a shock, but Art handles the whole thing remarkably well. She escapes from
school through a chimney and sets off to find her mother's crew.
She finds them promoting Pirate Coffee, rather than committing actual acts of piracy, and is quite disappointed in her
mother's formerly fearless crew. However, they have some news for her: her memories are not exactly complete. What she
remembers was, in fact, a play. Her mother acted the character of Piratica, and the men acted the parts of a pirate crew.
Every night they performed in front of enthusiastic audiences. Art herself was something of a prodigy.
Try as she might, Art can't remember anything but a life at sea, even though the crew tells her it was all an act. Despite
this disappointment, Art sticks to her original plan, and convinces the men to try their hands at actual piracy. As their
Captain, she soon has them sailing the seas, taking no lives and adhering to Piratica's code. Art herself takes the name of
Piratica, the name her mother Molly Faith was once called.
Soon, Piratica has an actual enemy—Goldie Girl, another pirate queen who wants something Art has. Art's not giving up,
however; she's a pirate captain, and she's not about to surrender to the daughter of the pirate her mother once fought (on
stage). This fight, however, is real.
While the beginning isn't nearly as absorbing, exciting, or fast paced as one might hope from the subtitle of the book,
Piratica (Being a Daring Tale of a Singular Girl's Adventure Upon the High Seas) is, for the readers that stick
with it, a wonderful pirate story. Despite the disappointing revelation early on that Molly Faith and the rest were not real
pirates, this does, in fact, turn into a real pirate story, complete with a treasure map leading the way to buried treasure
on a deserted island.
In a world much like, yet very different from, our own at one time in history, Tanith Lee, a brilliant writer, creates
realistic, likeable characters living the much romanticized life of pirates. Even the minor characters are interesting and
lifelike—some even more so than Art. This is a story sure to enchant readers, and the ending will leave them anxious to
get their hands on the sequel!
The Murder Of Bindy Mackenzie
by Jaclyn Moriarty
Reviewed by Liz Burns, A Chair, a Fireplace and a Tea Cozy
Bindy Mackenzie is the most successful girl in Grade 11. She works hard, and she has the grades and the class standing to
prove it. It's not just in school that she excels; she also works three jobs. And she cares about her fellow
students—why, last year Bindy held lunchtime advisory sessions!
So what if her parents have moved to the city, leaving her to live with an aunt and uncle? So what if her mother never
responds to her emails? So what if her father requires a "business proposal" before "investing" in whatever Bindy wants to
spend money on? As her father OKs proposals such as buying cheap things to resell at higher prices to classmates, he tells
her again and again that she is smarter, and better, than everyone else. And Bindy believes him: Isn't the proof in her
grades and accomplishments?
So what if she's quirky. Bindy does some of it deliberately, to show that she is well-rounded, such as her multicolored
nail polish. Other stuff she does for fun, such as transcribing all the conversations around her onto her laptop. And
then there's her little habit of comparing people to animals.
But still, Bindy doesn't need anyone. She does quite well by herself. So when she is forced, FORCED, into the new
"Friendship and Development Project" (she notes the acronym FAD), with a group of people she has nothing in common with
(they are coarse of language and not the brightest), she is upset. It is a waste of time, time spent better studying.
It gets worse after the first group project: anonymously comment on the other people in your group. The nicest thing said
about Bindy is "fastest typist." She's also called "too smart" (how can one be too smart, she wonders) and "talks like
a horse." Bindy gets angry and resolves to get even. And just as she takes her schoolwork seriously, she takes revenge
seriously.
Except...revenge isn't as sweet as she thought it would be. And when things start going wrong in her life—not only
does she stop handing in papers, she stops caring about doing well, and, oh yeah, there's the fact that someone may
be out to kill her—Bindy discovers that she may need friends after all.
Bindy is a makeover book, with its protagonist evolving from an isolated, arrogant, lonely teen to someone with
friends and who knows how to be a friend. Along the way, a mystery or two is solved. Makeovers are tricky—we don't really
want everyone to be alike, and we don't
want to say that there's only one right way to do things. Bindy is cautioned by her brother Anthony to not lose herself
or disappear. What works is that Bindy doesn't; Bindy is actually a pretty cool teen. What's not cool, though, is her
ingrained habit of judging everyone, and finding them wanting. And letting them know that. Why Moriarty is a genius is
she takes this unlikable character and makes her lovable. You root for her, you cringe as she makes some serious missteps,
you cheer her accomplishments.
This is a companion book to Moriarty's other books, The Year of Secret Assignments and Feeling Sorry For
Celia. All take part at the same school, and there are overlapping characters. Chronologically, Feeling Sorry
For Celia takes place first and Bindy last. This is one of those sets that doesn't have to be read in order,
but, because Moriarty is a wonderful author, you'll be happy that you've read all three.
Cathy's Book: If Found Call (650) 266-8233, by Sean Steward and Jordan Weisman. Running Press
Book Publishers, 2006. ISBN: 0-7624-2656-X .
Piratica: Being a Daring Tale of a Singular Girl's Adventure Upon the High Seas, by Tanith Lee.
Puffin; Reprint edition, 2006. ISBN: 0-1424-0644-9.
The Murder of Bindy Mackenzie, by Jaclyn Moriarty. Arthur A. Levine Books, 2006.
ISBN: 0-4397-4051-7.
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