<h3>Now You See Her</h3>

Mitchard, J. (2007). Now You See Her. NY: Harper Collins. ISBN: 0061116831.

Plot Summary: Fifteen-year old Hope writes in her journal about being the object of everyone’s envy. At Starwood, she has no friends except for her “boyfriend” Logan Rose, the good-looking senior with TV commercial and movie roles to his credit. As a budding actress, Hope believes that are in love, and Logan talks of them running off to New York or LA together.

Then Logan hatches The Idea, which involves them faking Hope’s kidnapping, demanding a $20,000 ransom from her parents, and Logan dramatically rescuing her, thereby putting him in such good graces with her parents that they will allow the two teenagers to go wherever they’d like. However, as the timing of The Idea nears, Logan draws away from her. Hope is desperately convinced that the only way she can prove her love is to carry out the faked abduction. When things don’t go as planned, Hope goes from being famous to notorious…and learns a few startling things about herself and her life as a result.

Critical Evaluation: I have mixed feelings about this book. Hope appears to be a whiny, narcissistic teen but through her journal entries, we start to empathize with her. Of course, she’s a confused, unreliable narrator and not particularly likeable either, but there is something original and strangely satisfying about this psychological thriller. It can be seen as a thought-provoking journal of hope or just a frightening portrait of a girl in trouble. It’s true that “now we see her” and other times, it feels like we don’t. Fittingly, It’s a melodramatic adventure as only a drama queen can tell it.

Reader’s Annotation:
Hope Shay is a talented fifteen-year old actor whose desire to perform is mixed up with her mother’s stagemother ambitions. She’s at a strict prep school called Miss Taylor’s for faking her own kidnapping. Hope had the lead role in her school’s production of Romeo and Juliet, a blossoming acting career and all the right clothes. So why would she fake her own disappearance?

Information About the Author:
Jacquelyn Mitchard is the New York Times bestselling author of the first Oprah's Book Club selection, The Deep End of the Ocean, and more than a dozen other books for both adults and children. A former syndicated columnist for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, she is a contributing editor for Parade, and her work has appeared in More, Reader’s Digest, Good Housekeeping, and Real Simple, among other publications. Mitchard lives in Wisconsin with her husband and seven children.

Genre:
Teen Issues: Mental, Emotional and Behavioral Problems
Contemporary Life: Coming of Age
Mystery and Suspense

Curriculum Ties: English class, Psychology class, Drama class, Book clubs

Booktalking Ideas:
1.) Hope Shay vs. Bernadette Romano
2.) Do you like Hope?
3.) Who is at fault in this story?
4.) What does the story say about mental illness?
5.) How does suspense further the story’s plot?

Reading Level/Interest Age: Grades 10-12

Challenge Issues/Defenses:

Potential Challenges:
• Portrayal of mental illness

Defense Strategy:
• Provide our Collection Development Policy (which includes Young Adult scope): http://ww2.cityofpasadena.net/library/collection.asp

• Provide book reviews by actual readers on a publicly accessible website:
http://www.amazon.com/Now-You-See-Jacquelyn-Mitchard/dp/006111684X

• Provide book reviews by professional critics and established publications:
http://www.bookbrowse.com/bb_briefs/detail/index.cfm/ezine_preview_number/1414/Now-You-See-Her#reviews

• Provide discussion questions book clubs have used to address issues or book content:
http://www.harperteen.com/books/9780061116841/Now_You_See_Her/index.aspx

Why This Book Was Included: This book was recommended on a list for Young Adult literature. It's interesting and different than the typical YA novel, but I’m not sure I’d recommend it to a lot of teens.