Accomplice by Eireann Corrigan

Finn and Chloe have been best friends since fourth grade. They live next door to each other, stay at each others homes – one would even say they’re like sisters, finely tuned into each others’ families and lifestyles. Chloe is the beautiful one, the one who everyone revolves around. Finn is more down-to-earth; a local girl who befriended the city girls when she moved in.

Now they’re juniors in high school and fast approaching what it’ll take to get into an ivy-league school and all the pressures that come with it. It doesn’t leave the girls a lot of time, but enough time for Chloe to flirt with Dean and Finn to help her. They had enough time for them to still watch television and the drama that unfolded on the L.A. Price show when Margaret Cook came home after being abducted. The girls had enough time to plan…

Applying to get into a prestigious university is one thing; getting in is another completely different beast, and Chloe and Finn know that. After hearing their counselor reiterate the fact that what they’re doing now in the small town of Colt River has no bearing on them actually getting in, and hearing as well the statistics of how many students across the nation apply and how many actually get in leaves the girls, but Chloe especially, in a spiral of desperation. And with enough time on their hands and a seed of inspiration, the girls create a scenario that will definitely make them stand out. Months of meticulous planning, and the show is about to begin…

What Finn doesn’t realize is that eleven days will take its toll on her. While Chloe’s abduction goes into full swing, Finn sees the brunt of it and the impact it’s taking not only on her hometown, but on individuals themselves. But how far is too far? When does it stop being a game and start being real?

A great novel from a great YA author, Corrigan puts her signature on this book. The reader is hooked on page one and the pages continue to flip until the final moment on the last page. The hook happens not only with the fullness of the character, but with the situation as well. What the main characters find fascinating, the reader sees the nightmare behind it from a classmate’s to a parent’s perspective. This is a fast paced white-knuckle book where the reader gets to live through the perpetrators’ actions and watch the victims’ emotional and mental breakdowns. Recommended. This book isn't due for publishing until August 2010. Publisher: Scholastic
I'd be happy to share this galley with the first person to contact me:
naomi.bates@gmail.com