The girl in the headlines by Hannah Jayne

Andi McNulty has just turned eighteen, but when she wakes the morning after her birthday, she is alone in a motel room, unable to remember what happened - and she's covered in blood. The TV is on and Andi hears her own name - her family is on the news, her father has been murdered, her mother is only barely alive in a coma and her little brother Josh is missing. Suspect Number One is Andi, but she couldn't have done this, right? She's on the high school field hockey team, she is a caring big sister and her whole family is happy. What happened to her near-perfect life? Finding herself alone and unsure of where to turn, Andi teams up with the strange, yet sympathetic Nate who works at the motel. Andi has to clear her name, find a murderer and save her brother - who is missing without a trace.

This mystery suspense novel is told from Andi's perspective, starting out with her waking in the motel room. Questions are a constant theme through the whole book, though there is a lack of urgency, and not much action for the majority of the book. While the writing is adequate, the story lacks some depth that many murder mysteries that have been published in the last few years have had. The story also goes back and forth a few times on the same questions, seeming to go around and around without true direction, but the story does slowly move forward. While not as exciting as some other YA mysteries, still a decent read.

Themes: Mystery, Murder, Suspense, Family Relationships, Secrets.

Melanie Pages