When Zoe's parents get divorced, she moves with her mom to a new place and plans to double down in public school so she can transfer to a private prep, but her plans go awry when Digby enters her life. Before Zoe knows it, she is committing vandalism and break-ins and combing the town with Digby in an attempt to find a girl from their school who has gone missing. Digby seems like a criminal mastermind, but his motivation is personal believes his sister's long-ago kidnapping is connected to their missing classmate. With acerbic banter and a healthy dose of high-school high jinks, screenwriter Tromly weaves together traditional elements of teen stories to create a Breakfast Club for a new century. Writing with a light hand, she uses humor to keep the story afloat even as darkness descends. Although Digby is "done being the Boy Whose Sister Was Taken," Zoe has much to learn about herself and her own family. The town's secrets and lies are a real draw, but readers will be most interested in the friendships and romance that develop.

Gr 9 Up-A fast-paced story about two misfit teens working on a cold case. The same town that makes Zoe Webster wonder if she'll ever find a friend is the one that raised Philip Digbyand watched as his kid sister, Sally, disappeared years ago. Digby, as he's called, recruits newbie Princeton, his nickname for Zoe, as his accomplice, because he trusts no one else. Together they circumvent or simply break laws in the interest of finding out what happened. Breaking and entering, carrying concealed weapons, pretending to buy drugsit's all part of uncovering the truth. There are some unfortunate stereotypes, such as "Girls in the Bronx smuggle razor blades into school in their cheeks." There are also redeeming characterizations, such as a single mother who evolves from a stereotype into a a multifaceted person; and a romance that's complicated by a handsome guy named Henry, Digby's once upon a time best friend. Readers will find a sharply drawn character in the irrepressible Zoe, who's as dubious about Digby's methods as she is curious about whether or not she can live up to his daredevilry. Many—too many—irresponsible adults try to derail Princeton and Digby from their mission: a perverted gynecologist, a cheating dad, a cult posing as next-door neighbors, to name only a few. VERDICT With elements of mystery, romance, and problem novels, Tromly's debut aims to please a wide variety of readers, but its success is due largely to the authentic portrayal of its two teenage protagonists.— Georgia Christgau, Middle College High School, Long Island City, NY