George follows The Edge of Nowhere (2012) with this stand-alone companion title that introduces interesting new characters while expanding on the complex multiple protagonists introduced in the previous title. Jenn McDaniels, a scrappy soccer player, has harassed and insulted Becca King, Whidbey Island newcomer, since "Fat Broad's" arrival a year earlier. Now, under the direction of attractive marine biologist Annie Taylor, Jenn and Becca must join forces to solve a mystery involving Nera, the coal-black seal whose annual return to the island is a major source of tourism income. There are skeletons in the closet of many a secretive island resident, and George's tight and elegant construction weaves myriad threads while dropping none. She explores issues of sexuality, racial and cultural identity, homelessness, and mental illness with compassion and a refreshing lack of sensationalism. Her intriguing and fully developed characters are people rather than issues. Surprising for such a reality-based plot, a touch of mythology-based magic emerges in the wholly satisfying conclusion. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: George, the New York Times best-selling author of adult mysteries, could draw name recognition in the YA market, too.

The sequel to The Edge of Nowhere picks up the story of psychic Becca King who has fled from her criminal stepfather and taken up a life on Whidbey Island, where a mystery develops around a seal that visits yearly. With so many subplots, the story's main thread is difficult to discern, but the large cast of characters is nicely realized.

Best-selling mystery writer George continues her series for teens set on Whidbey Island in Washington state with this mystery about an unusual seal connected to the Celtic selkie myth. The first volume in the series, The Edge of Nowhere (2012), focused on Becca, a girl with the power to understand some of the thoughts of others around her. This story also includes Becca and her on-again, off-again boyfriend, Derric, but the main character this time is Jenn, a bitter 15-year-old from an impoverished, dysfunctional family. Jenn is just beginning to question her sexual orientation, but many are already convinced she is a lesbian, and she is the target of relentless homophobic bullying (that evidently goes without consequence). Jenn befriends a marine biologist named Annie who rents a trailer near Jenn's home and employs Jenn as an assistant. Annie is bisexual, and she tries repeatedly and inappropriately but unsuccessfully to interest Jenn in exploring sex with her. Troublingly, the text does not seem to question the stereotypes it exploits, from the predatory gay adult to Jenn's slight frame and short haircut; Jenn's sexual questioning is not resolved. The actual mystery revolves around Jenn's and Becca's involvement with Annie and other adults in a long, complicated search for an unusual coal-black seal that returns to the island every year. Too long, too many characters, too many subplots and far too many trendy ingredients stirred in just for effect. (Paranormal mystery. 12 & up)

Gr 8 Up-Whidbey Island is beautiful and isolated, but if Becca King thought she would be safe from her murderous stepfather there, she learned just how wrong she was in the closing pages of The Edge of Nowhere (Viking, 2012). She is forced to rely on the kindness of her friend Seth Darrow, who gives her a secret place to stay, and her hidden life causes problems between her and her boyfriend, Derric. Meanwhile, Becca finds her ability to hear the "whispers" of other people's thoughts growing stronger, even as strange events start to coalesce around Becca, her new friends, and the yearly reappearance of a black seal in the waters off Whidbey Island. George convincingly expands the world around Becca through passages in the perspective of a classmate, Jen, whose point of view helps drive the plot forward, and the machinations of various townspeople as they alternately try to protect and harm the mysterious seal. Honest depictions of teenage sexuality are a refreshing addition to the story. So, too, are Becca's growing supernatural abilities, which have started to include visions, and the otherworldly qualities of Nera the seal, which add a dose of the mystic. Various plot elements make this installment best enjoyed by teens familiar with the first book. A ripping good thriller. Elisabeth Gattullo Marrocolla, Darien Library, CT

So many questions and secrets swirl around Whidbey Island. Many of them center on Nerathe mysterious black seal whose appearance every year at the same time has spawned a festival and a website by seal-spotters who report every sighting of her while in the waters around their island. When Anniea marine-biologist grad studentarrives intent on studying Nera for her doctoral dissertation, a lot more questions are raised and some secrets revealed.This is the second installment in what appears to be a series but one need not have read the first book to be engrossed. It continues Becca's story of being on the run from her murderous stepfather and raises new questions about her origins. As the quest for answers about Nera intensifies, several characters face questions of their own: Jenn is confused about who she is attracted to; Derric struggles with the secret of the sister he left behind in a Ugandan orphanage and what it means about the kind of person he is; Becca has glimpses of what could be memories but no answers. With so much going on in this story, character development is a little thin. Some of the adult characters are a tad too understanding to be realistic, while the teens come off a little better, though Jenn's turnaround in regards to Becca is rather abrupt and not really well developed. These flaws do not detract from a riveting story and since many questions remain unanswered, readers will be eager for the next installment.Debbie Wenk.This book is well written, on many levels. George stays in third-person throughout the whole book, yet the perspective changes each chapter, or part of the book. The way she writes is interesting because it is not exactly third-person omniscient, but it is not third-person singular either. It is a little bit of both because in each part, readers are not exactly hearing (reading) everyone's thoughts, but they do hear almost everyone's perspective at some point in the book. This book is thoroughly enjoyable and should be recommended to any teenager who enjoys mystery. 4Q, 4P.Madeline Miles, Teen Reviewer.