Young Adult Literature without Apology

Amy's assessment of contemporary young adult literature, organized by author and title, censored by noone.

Realistic | Romance | Science Fiction | Historical Fiction | Fantasy | Horror | Mystery

Olin, Sean (2005). Killing Britney. NY: Simon Pulse. ISBN: 0689877781. 240 pages.

High school junior Britney Johnson managed to transform herself from major dork to teenage princess and, as girlfriend of her Wisconsin school's ice hockey team captain and all around popular gal, should be loving life. When her boyfriend is killed in what could either be a freak accident or murder, Britney starts feeling as if she, herself might be a target. This feeling grows stronger as more people close to her are killed and Britney's neighbors start to worry about the emergence of serial killer. School Library Journal described the novel as one that seems as if it "unfold[s] across a movie screen," an apt simile, as the book reads like a Lifetime TV thriller come to life. This is not to say the book is not enjoyable; indeed, the fast-paced and sometimes gratuitously gorey mystery is a guilty pleasure. The ending, though, meant to be a "freak-out", was a little lame in its execution and reminded me way too much of the end of the movie, Urban Legend.