One Was Lost

July 15, 2016
A high school senior camping trip turns into a survival nightmare when the group is targeted by a violent stalker.Separated by a flooding river, the participants' initial plan is to camp overnight and reunite the following morning. But when Lebanese-American narrator Sera, "white trash" Lucas, black Jude, and Asian-American Emily wake up, they discover they've been drugged. Overnight their equipment, including an emergency GPS, was destroyed, and their teacher seems to be suffering from an overdose. More disturbingly, each student's wrist has a Sharpie-drawn label: "Darling," "Dangerous," "Deceptive," and "Damaged," respectively. The situation exacerbates pre-existing tensions, and members immediately suspect one another. However, the gruesome discovery that the teacher and students on the other side of the river have likely been murdered brings a fragile unity to Sera's group--motivating their attempted hike to safety. Complicating matters is Sera's conflict about her attraction to Lucas, the classically misunderstood bad boy--a storyline that conveniently proves there's always time for romance. Meanwhile, the killer plays cat and mouse with the teens, leading them off-course with traps and feeding them misinformation, effectively amping up the tension. The premise is exciting and the pacing effective, but the novel is unfortunately light on details of how the villain could have actually planned and executed the whole situation. Full of drama and suspicion for readers who can get past its credibility problem. (Thriller. 14-18)

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September 1, 2016

Gr 9 Up-A school hiking trip turns deadly in Richards's dark, contemporary stand-alone thriller. Participation in a hike through the West Virginia woods is mandatory for graduating high school seniors. Sera's misery is compounded by Lucas, the crush she's avoided. A flash flood strands the campers and their teachers Mr. Walker and Ms. Brighton on either side of a river. The next day, Sera wakes up from a drugged sleep, discovering evidence that the campers were attacked. Mr. Walker is found unconscious, and the campers are marked on their wrists: Jude, Deceptive; Emily, Damaged; Lucas, Dangerous; and Sera, Darling. Someone is targeting them for crimes, imagined or real, and they must work together to survive the hunt. Richards delivers a solid page-turner for readers who want to keep the lights on all night. With its predatory atmosphere, this book feels like The Breakfast Club folded into a Christopher Pike novel's fight for survival. The characters' ethnicities are refreshingly inclusive. However, the plot suffers from a weakness that holds it back from rising above average. The backstory behind the attack is based on a ghostly tale that readers are never sufficiently privy to, weakening the tension and at times causing actual confusion. The attacks are quite graphic and may be unsuitable for sensitive readers. VERDICT An enticing thriller that, despite some defects, remains a general purchase recommendation.-Jessica Bushore, formerly at Shelf Awareness, Xenia, OH

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