by Elisa Ludwig
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Release Date: March 17th 2015
Willa’s string of good-hearted but ill-conceived thefts at her former high school catapulted her into a life she hardly knows. She became a cult hero, but soon afterward, her mom disappeared, leaving only a cryptic message. When Willa hit the California highway to find her, she discovered a dark family secret: Joanne Fox is not who she says she is-and neither is Willa. Now, Willa and fellow trouble-maker Aidan must race to St. Louis, Missouri, Willa’s birthplace. There, they hope to find answers about Willa’s past. But uncovering the truth requires solving a decades-old murder case.
Unfortunately, the perps are still out there . . . and willing to do whatever it takes to keep the case cold. With Willa’s face on the nightly news and the police hot on her trail, it might not matter that Aidan and her friend Tre are there to help. Willa’s only hope is to find the truth before it finds her first.
This leg of the series has us put on our crime solving thinking caps on. After Willa discovers that she has actually been raised by her older sister and not her mom, she heads to St. Louis to find out more about her real mom. Only to dive head first into a 15 year old murder case that has gone cold. With the help of Aidan and Tre she puts together pieces of the puzzle, which isn’t exactly the safest idea.
It’s so strange I don’t know if I have ever read a book with characters like this. Ones that I’m not exactly sure how I feel about them all the way through. I like Willa don’t get me wrong but sometimes her noble ideas almost have a selfish tinge to them. Even when she was helping out the girls at school as Sly Fox. She was doing it to make them feel good about themselves but also to get back at the Glitterati. It makes her interesting vigilante, a little on the flawed side. I actually like that about characters.Willa is also caring though and really feels like she needs to put the pieces of her mom’s death together to find some closure.
Aidan is kind of an immature but broken boy. He’s a mixture of bad and good for Willa. He really cares about her and has stuck with her through some sticky situations. He is also using her to escape his own problems as well though. Plus there is some shady business with him. Something about the two of them made me sad even when they were doing sweet or romantic things.
Tre of course is a good friend. He says things how they are and points out when Willa and Aidan are being idiots. Whether he is near or far though he is supportive.
The plot was pretty interesting but I really liked the ending. It was so different and not exactly what I was expecting! It was perfect in that way and a great wrap up to the series.
WILLA
Gabrielle Wilde
AIDAN
William Moseley
TRE
Tequan Richmond
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My debut young adult novel PRETTY CROOKED (Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins) was released in March 2012, and the sequel, PRETTY SLY, is out in March 2014. COIN HEIST, a YA thriller, is out in June 2014 (Adaptive Studios). I live in Philadelphia with my husband and son.
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