From the Publisher
"The action starts on the first page as readers are introduced to Andi’s plight, and the pace does not let up until the final resolution." — Booklist
"[T]his is a propulsive...story rife with true-crime TV tropes and plenty of red herrings." — Kirkus Reviews
"The Girl in the Headlines will keep you on your toes... This book is definitely a nail-biter." — Seattle Book Review
School Library Journal
06/01/2021
Gr 7 Up—Andi has no memory of what happened on the night of her 18th birthday when she wakes up the next morning in an unfamiliar motel room, covered in blood. She wanders into the lobby, hoping for some information about how she got there. Instead of clarity, she sees a sensational news story about her family: Her parents were brutally assaulted in their home, her younger brother is missing, and she is the number one suspect in the crimes. With the conveniently helpful motel clerk, mixed-race Nate, as her only ally, Andi, who has olive skin, sets out to find her brother, clear her name, and solve the mystery of her past that may be at the heart of the tragedy. Jayne renders Andi's insecurity about what she'd believed to be her perfect family alongside Nate's own abandonment issues, and attempts to subvert stereotypes of "neglected kids" in the process. But it's never clear why Nate decides to help Andi, and his near-absence from the final third of the novel only exacerbates this confusion. Readers hoping for a heartfelt portrayal of the impacts of childhood traumas will be left wanting more. VERDICT A fast-paced thriller that is driven more by plot than character. Recommended for very large collections.—Dana West, Nathan Hale H.S., Seattle
Kirkus Reviews
2021-04-30
A high schooler is hunted for a crime she can’t remember.
Athletic, asthmatic Andrea McNulty had a happy life with her adoptive parents and little brother, Josh. But when she awakes in a strange motel room after her 18th birthday, bruised and bloody, she finds her family’s peace shattered, her parents possibly dead, and her brother missing. Unable to remember what transpired the previous night, Andi finds a street-wise ally in oddly helpful motel employee Nate (described as mixed-race; which races are not specified). Floundering through her sudden ejection from the sheltered, middle-class life of her White family, Andi soon uncovers suburbia’s seedier side—and dark family secrets. No accomplished amateur sleuth, Andi’s attempts to exonerate herself and find the perpetrators just feed the media frenzy. As the news outlets and her former friends sensationalize Andi’s rough childhood—a birth mother addicted to heroin, issues in the adoption process following her time in foster care—Andi begins to question everything and everyone. Jayne gestures at but doesn’t fully explore poverty or racism: Certain characters come off as caricatures, with their tacky nails, cigarettes, and prison sentences, more driven by greed than downtrodden by the system. Overall, this is a propulsive—if occasionally illogical and unlikely—story rife with true-crime TV tropes and plenty of red herrings.
A teen thriller that questions middle-class myths. (Thriller. 14-18)
