Young Adult Literature without Apology

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

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Moriarty, Jaclyn (2006). The Murder of Bindy Mackenzie. NY(?): Arthur A. Levine Books. ISBN: 0439740517. 352 pages.

Having read Moriarty's Feeling Sorry for Celia (2001) and The Year of Secret Assignments (2004), I knew to expect another novel told in the non-traditional narrative form of memos, letters and diary entries of and pertaining to the main character. Though this is not my favorite form of narrative and, though I enjoyed but was not overwhelmed by Moriarty's earlier novels, I found this new one to be quite good and even charming. Bindy Mackenzie is the perfectionist teacher's pet whom everyone dislikes; she corrects teachers' mistakes, offers lunchtime seminars on overcoming deviant teenage behavior, and is in the top academic ranks at her school. Her friendly overtures are usually rebuked, but Bindy is too socially clueless to realize this, a trait that makes her both loveable and irritating. Were she a real person, the average reader would likely have to supress the desire to take Bindy by the shoulders and give her a firm shake.

When Bindy has to complete a small-group personal development course as part of her studies, she takes an immediate dislike to her assigned group of classmates and young, hippyish teacher. Bindy can't believe that she, who, in her own mind, has passed through that socially constructed "stage" known as "teenage," would have to waste her time in such a course. Soon, however, Bindy has more pressing concerns: she hasn't been feeling well lately and has been receiving less than stellar grades. Furthermore, she has begun taking part in some of her class's small-group activities. When she confesses these bizarre behaviors and symptoms to her class during an overnight retreat, everyone comes to the same conclusion: Bindy is being slowly poisoned. Once the group starts brainstorming, it all makes sense; but, who could be doing the dirty business?

As light as a Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants book but way more quirky and genuine, The Murder . . . was a really fun book. Bindy's voice--which rings out via her memos to the school board and the diary of "philosophical musings" she keeps for her own benefit--is nerdily endearing. And not nerdily endearing in that whole Can't Buy Me Love kind of way where the "nerd" turns out to actually be a hottie; more in that inescapable and unfixable nerdy way that everyone has to just get around or get over.