I Know you're lying by Daphne Benedis Grab

 

Sasha is blackmailing kids in middle school at Snow Valley Secondary School. Her backpack has been taken from her locker in the early hours of the morning and the school security camera shows four students who were in the school well before the time they should arrive. WHY? 

This book is sure to totally engross readers aged 10+. The four kids work so hard and in such a clever way to solve the school crime of a stolen backpack. Each of the four - Nora, Maddie, Jack and Henry have their own back story which is slowly revealed as they open up to one another.

I started this book last night and finished it early this morning - it really is a page turner!

Bookseller blurb: There's been a theft at the middle school! Sasha's bag has been stolen from her locker. The security cameras on the school's front entrance captured four students entering the building early. Present at the time of the crime, Maddie, Jack, Nora, and Henry become top suspects. Each of them has a reason to dislike Sasha. Each has something to hide. But which of them is responsible for the break-in? And can they figure out who the thief is before Sasha gets her revenge ... on all of them. Set during a single day of school, this is a gripping, twisty read about what happens when bullying goes too far, written by Daphne Benedis-Grab, author of I Know Your Secret.

Set after the Covid-19 lockdowns, the novel also addresses repercussions from the pandemic. Jack, who has a Vietnamese American father and White mother, experiences anti-Asian racism, and Henry’s father’s restaurant closed due to the pandemic, leaving the household financially insecure. The author links these diverging storylines in just the right places to drive the twists and turns, bolstering an underlying anti-bullying theme. Kirkus

Companion reads:

Because of Mr Terupt

The Year Mrs Montague Cried