He’s greeted in his new life by an assortment of acquaintances, Liam, who is white and struggling with depression Maddie, a self-sacrificing white cheerleader with a heart of gold and Aarti, his Indian-American love interest who offers connection. His professor mom’s new tenure-track job transplants Norris mid–school year, and his biting wit and sarcasm are exposed through his cataloging of his new world in a field guide–style burn book. Norris Kaplan, the protagonist of Philippe’s debut novel, is a hypersweaty, uber-snarky black, Haitian, French-Canadian pushing to survive life in his new school. 13-17)Ī teenage, not-so-lonely loner endures the wilds of high school in Austin, Texas. A rollicking good read, this book will offer a solid introduction to the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle for younger teens. It also offers enjoyable insight into how Sherlock Holmes became the future investigative wizard for established fans of the ultimate detective. The main characters are well drawn, but the villains are underdeveloped caricatures whose evil is unmitigated by human qualities. After the scene is thoroughly set, the plot takes off like a rocket, constantly building suspense to a shockingly violent climax and over-the-top conclusion in which justice prevails over evil.

One of the strengths of this book is the immediacy of action-beginning chapters don’t weigh readers down with details but introduce necessary clues and facts woven skillfully into the text. Sherlock and his orphaned friend, Matty, probe two strange deaths associated with the appearance of a mysterious cloud. This first in a new series about Sherlock Holmes as a teenager finds the dismayed hero taken by his brother Mycroft to stay with a stuffy uncle in the country for his summer school holiday.

Death Cloud by Andy Lane