Exposure

December 15, 2012
Death, betrayal, ruthless plots to seize the "crown"--all the seeds of stage tragedy take root and flourish in this clever modern-day homage to Macbeth. Skye Kingston has always been more comfortable hidden behind the lens of her camera than out in front of it. Senior year at East Anchorage High lands her center stage in both a dangerous love triangle and a high-stakes plot to conceal what really happened the night Duncan, the captain of the hockey team, turns up dead. Skye nearly meets her match in the manipulative, power-hungry Beth, who will stop at nothing to reach the pinnacle of popularity, and that means using whatever means necessary to keep Craig, her boyfriend and prom-king-heir-apparent, away from Skye. Though Skye's angst over whether or not to reveal what she knows about Duncan's death grows tiresome, readers will surely cheer for this smart, reluctant heroine as she struggles to follow her heart and her head, even as those around her unravel. Unfortunately, in one of the novel's greatest shortcomings, Duncan's character is woefully underdeveloped. So, aside from the intrigue surrounding his untimely end, readers won't much notice his absence. As it turns out, high school is rife with just enough passion and treachery to set a suitable stage for some Shakespearean-level drama. (Fiction. 13 & up)

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November 1, 2013

Gr 8 Up-A flippant take on Macbeth, set in an Alaskan high school. Skye Kingston is an avid photographer and social nobody who becomes involved in a cover-up when Duncan Shaw, senior captain of the hockey team and leader of the school's popular crowd, dies after falling through the ice at a party. It looks like an accident, but Skye overhears her longtime crush, Craig MacKenzie, and his sociopathic girlfriend, Beth Morgan, arguing and realizes that they were somehow involved in Duncan's death. Everything starts spinning out of control as Skye agonizes over whether to reveal what she overheard, and Craig and Beth pursue the titles of Prom King and Queen. Beth becomes increasingly unhinged, and Craig is consumed with guilt over Duncan's death, with everything coming to a climax at a farewell ceremony in the quad for an ancient tree called Old Burny. Other Shakesperean touches include three edgy girls of Yup'ik descent who seem to foretell the future and lines from the play as chapter headings, but much of the time, the story departs from the tragedy with subplots about Skye's parents divorcing and Skye contending with unwanted attention from a persistent admirer. This is an entertaining read, although sometimes the serious plot elements from Macbeth don't mix well with the snarky descriptions of high school social climbing. Readers don't need to be familiar with the play in order to enjoy this, but students who have read it will appreciate the many Shakespearean references throughout.-Kathleen E. Gruver, Burlington County Library, Westampton, NJ

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