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Cooney, Caroline B.
19 Reviews
(4)
YA
Miranda and her exacting older sister Lander don't get along, but when Lander is framed for murder, Miranda tries desperately to uncover the true killer. With the sisters' alternating perspectives, this thriller unfolds at a quick, steady pace. The suspense ultimately wraps up too predictably, but an eerily idyllic setting and unique cast of suspects make for an otherwise satisfying whodunit.
Reviewer: Jessica Tackett MacDonald
(4)
YA
Years after seeing her own face on a milk carton, twenty-year-old Janie is still struggling with her identity, and her kidnapper is still on the loose. Tension is diluted by clunky references to computers and smart phones, and the wedding planning that dominates Janie's attention may not appeal to young readers. Devoted fans of the saga will be most invested in this conclusion.
Reviewer: Jessica Tackett MacDonald
(3)
YA
"You and me, we inherited songs. They're my grandma's shouts to God," Lutie's own grandmother used to tell her. Lutie works hard to protect "The Laundry List" songs and to understand her addict mother. In this satisfying novel set in the South, Lutie's story intersects with those of three other kids at her high school; the lost songs help all four characters find themselves.
Reviewer: Nancy Hull
(4)
YA
Missy always suspected that she and her relative Claire were closer than cousins. After a school hoax goes viral, family secrets about the two girls and a third, Genevieve, are slowly revealed. The climax is painstakingly slow in coming; and once the not-unexpected reveal is made, the conclusion feels rushed. But the engaging third-person narrative sticks close to the girls' emotions.
Reviewer: Brittany Schlorff
(4)
YA
Cathy's summer-school classmate, Tommy, questions her identity. Alternating chapters slowly confirm that Cathy is indeed Tommy's cousin Murielle, whose parents fled the country in an embezzlement scandal five years ago, leaving her with social services. Once readers suspend disbelief about the short time frame they'll be gripped by the topical story.
Reviewer: Susan Halperin
(2)
YA
The Fountain children's father died in a freak accident allegedly caused by their baby brother. Now older brother Jack discovers Aunt Cheryl's plans to televise their grieving process on a reality show--and clues that indicate the death was no accident. By rotating perspectives, Cooney draws out the action. Anchored by a poignant sibling reunion, this family-drama/thriller will have readers racing to its conclusion.
Reviewer: Claire E. Gross
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
May, 2009
(2)
YA
This satisfying thriller introduces with compassion the complex issues of African civil war and violence. A suburban Connecticut household takes in a family of battle-scarred African refugees not knowing that a cold-blooded killer is hot on their trail. The character roles are largely predetermined (self-centered American teen, bubbly little sister, polite African boy) but well suited to the plot-driven novel.
Reviewer: Lauren Adams
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
November, 2007
(2)
YA
Three female characters are introduced into the Macbeth story, their perspectives alternating to tell the bloody tale about the dark side of ambition. When scenes from the play appear, the Elizabethan language is rendered, fluidly, into standard English prose. That choice keeps the focus on the characters, each of whom discovers new heights--or depths--of ruthlessness.
Reviewer: Vicky Smith
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
May, 2007
(4)
YA
Although Lily's long-distance father abandons her eight-year-old brother, Michael, in an airport, Lily, trying to protect Michael, feels obligated to conceal her dad's cruelty. Lily's rage and hatred test her family and her Christian beliefs; reconciliation with both comes slowly (and perhaps too easily), but the novel's focus on faith is accessible and complex, and its tense opening will hook readers.
Reviewer: Norah Piehl
(3)
4-6
With her father away on business and her mother living in Paris, unhappy fourteen-year-old Shelley finds herself attending a family reunion with her trouble-making younger brother and their anxious new stepmother. The reunion leads Shelley to a believable confrontation with her anger and an acceptance of her imperfect family in this updated (e-mail, cell phones), enjoyable reissue.
Reviewer: Jeannine M. Chapman
(3)
YA
A hostage in ancient Greece, Anaxandra relies on her "goddess of yesterday" as she impersonates her foster sister, Princess Callisto, in the court of Menelaus and Helen. When Helen flees with Paris to Troy, Anaxandra is enslaved but saves Menelaus's son. The classical setting is fully and engrossingly evoked; Anaxandra is a courageous heroine, and the fast action resolves in a pleasing ending.
Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam
(2)
YA
Time Travel Quartet series.
Romantic Annie Lockwood falls through time and lands in 1895--the end of the Victorian era, a time representing all she has fantasized about. She falls in love and is drawn further into "the other side of time," even as her own time continues to pull at her. This first book in the series is suspenseful and poignant.
Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
November, 1995
(3)
YA
Time Travel Quartet series.
In the sequel to Both Sides of Time, Annie Lockwood is again swept back in time to continue her Victorian adventure. Her beloved Strat has fallen victim to the dastardly schemer Walker Walkey, and Strat's sister joins forces with Annie to rescue him. Strat and Annie's love is palpable, and the ending is ambiguous enough to leave readers craving the third book.
Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.
(3)
YA
Time Travel Quartet series.
In this sequel to Both Sides of Time and Out of Time, the time switch is reversed, and instead of modern-day Annie Lockwood slipping into the Victorian era to find true love, a very proper young lady of the nineteenth century finds herself watching too much TV and trying to fit in at the local high school. Fans of the first two will enjoy this third time-slip fantasy.
Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.
(3)
YA
In 1704, the Mohawk attacked the Puritan settlement of Deerfield, Massachusetts, taking eleven-year-old Mercy Carter and over one hundred other settlers captive--forcing them to trudge three hundred miles to Canada. Cooney constructs a suspenseful story for Mercy, who must decide whether to remember her former life and family or to "set them down" and embrace her new life as a Mohawk.
Reviewer: Mary R. Holt
(4)
YA
Time Travel Quartet series.
In this fourth and concluding book in the series that began with Both Sides of Time, Annie Lockwood travels to ancient Egypt. Unless Strat, her nineteenth-century beau, can find a way through time to save her, Annie is going to be sacrificed by the pharaoh. While the fantasy elements of the ending are weak, fans will be eager to see whether Annie and Strat can find a way to be together.
Reviewer: Jeannine M. Chapman
(4)
YA
This fourth book in The Face on the Milk Carton saga offers Janie a trip to Boulder, Colorado, where she may be able to confront her kidnapper, a woman she hasn't seen since she was three years old. Cooney's intense delivery generates an electric air of suspense, although readers will need to have read the previous volumes in order to feel truly invested in Janie's plight.
Reviewer: Christine M. Heppermann
(4)
YA
Macey, a privileged Connecticut teenager, begins researching a fire that destroyed a local home in 1959. Her investigation suggests that the fire was meant to drive out the town's first African-American teacher, and that the city's elders--including her own grandparents--were complicit in the crime. Despite some powerful scenes, Cooney's facile prose doesn't always do justice to the important subject matter.
Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta
(3)
YA
In this sequel to 'Out of Time' and 'Both Sides of Time', the time switch is reversed, and instead of modern-day Annie Lockwood slipping into the Victorian era to find true love, a very proper young lady of the nineteenth century finds herself watching too much TV and trying to fit in at the local high school. Fans of the first two will enjoy this third time-slip fantasy.
Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.
19 reviews
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