Willo Davis Roberts 1928-

American author of young adult fiction and children's mysteries.

INTRODUCTION

Sophisticated stories and solid plot construction are the hallmark of Roberts's fiction. She has been highly praised for her insightful characterizations and narrative flow. Her direct and unpretentious mysteries address realistic problems such as the complications of diabetes in Sugar Isn't Everything (1987) and child abuse in Don't Hurt Laurie! (1977), while successfully retaining the viewpoint of a child.

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

Born May 28, 1928, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Roberts moved often as a child with her family. In fourth grade alone she studied at six different schools. Shy and embarrassed about her home life, Roberts found it difficult to make friends and began to write. After graduating from high school she met David Roberts, whom she married in 1949. They bought a dairy farm in California, where they lived for a time with their four children. Unfortunately, the farm was not a financial success and led them into debt. It was, Roberts said, a time "when I really learned about poverty" and had little time for writing.

In 1955 Roberts sold her first novel, an adult mystery, for $150. Roberts wrote in Something about the Author, "It gave me hope that after all those years of submitting stories that were rejected I might be able to earn money for the family on a regular basis. I went out on the back forty and cried my eyes out when I realized that I had to go to work and help bring in money faster than the writing could yet do." She began working in a hospital and became familiar with the genre of "nurse novels." Her first attempt in this genre sold for $1,000, which led her to write a line of nurse novels. When the genre went out of fashion, Roberts changed the title of her next novel to Return to Darkness (1969) and sold as it as suspense novel, which led to further success.

When Roberts submitted the manuscript for The View from the Cherry Tree (1975), her agent suggested that she rewrite it as a novel for children. Although Roberts was initially reluctant, she ultimately found the transition easy, and the book became one of her best sellers. In the late 1970s Roberts's husband retired and the couple began to publish books together using her text and his photographs. In Something about the Author Roberts observed, "Children often ask how long I'm going to keep on writing. My reply is that I hope to write until the day I die—hopefully many, many more books. I've already done so much that I never realistically believed I could do, way back when I started."

MAJOR WORKS

Roberts was a successful author of adult mystery and romance novels when she wrote The View from the Cherry Tree, her first book for children. The story concerns nine-year-old Rob who, while seeking an escape from the preparations for his sister's wedding by hiding up in the cherry tree, witnesses the murder of a neighbor. Although he sees hands push the neighbor out of the window, he does not see who the murderer is. When he tries to tell the adults about it, they are too busy with the wedding preparations to listen. Unfortunately, one of the people he tells is the murderer, placing his own life in danger. In Don't Hurt Laurie! Roberts addresses the subject of child abuse. Eleven-year-old Laurie is being physically abused by her mother, feels powerless, and is unable to communicate her situation to other adults. Her stepfather is unaware of her situation, but her stepbrother witnesses one of the beatings and tells his father who intervenes, rescuing Laurie and obtaining help for her mother. According to Roberts, librarians have commented that Don't Hurt Laurie! is one of the most frequently stolen children's books from libraries.

The winner of many state awards, The Girl with the Silver Eyes (1980) is Roberts's first foray into science fiction. A group of mothers are exposed to a peculiar drug during their pregnancy, resulting in the birth of mutant children with telekinetic powers. The children are viewed as outcasts, and when the protagonist, Katie, discovers she is one of them, she must decide whether to hide her powers to appear normal or risk exposure and public hostility to find others like herself. With a subtext about family interactions and the social responses to difference, the book was well-received by audiences and critics alike. Ruth Sadasivan declared in School Library Journal that Megan's Island (1988) "succeeds both as an entertaining mystery and as a novel about human relationships." Megan's single mother has sent Megan and her brother to stay with their grandfather in Minnesota, a place where she says they will be "safe." Megan figures out that her wealthy paternal grandfather is searching for her and her brother in order to kidnap them. By foiling her grandfather's plot, Megan frees her family from hiding, allowing them to resolve their family issues.

Critics took great delight in the humor of The Absolutely True Story … How I Traveled to Yellowstone Park with the Terrible Rupes (1994). Twelve-year-old Lewis thinks he is really lucky to be invited to go to Yellowstone Park with the next door neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Rupe and their children. They eat junk food, do not have chores, and do exactly what they want. Unfortunately, the Rupes are not as much fun as Lewis had thought: Mr. Rupe's driving is frightening, they pay no attention to sights, and two dangerous looking men seem to be following the luxurious motor home. The men kidnap the children, but the children manage to escape. In her review of Twisted Summer (1996) for Book Report Brenda Williams suggests that "Anyone enjoying mysteries will like this one." In the book, fourteen-year-old Cici and her family spend every summer at a cabin in Michigan. One summer, Cici arrives to find that the brother of her friend Jake has been convicted of murder, but Cici and Jake are sure that he is innocent. Cici and Jake make a list of suspects and attempt to pursue the truth. When the list disappears, they realize that someone knows what they are up to. Danger ensues until the mystery is solved.

CRITICAL RECEPTION

Critics have praised Roberts for her well-drawn characters and clever plots, calling her books suspenseful and hard to put down. Roberts has also been commended for her realistic development of characters and situations. A Kirkus Reviews critic found The View from the Cherry Tree intriguing: "This backyard melodrama exudes an aura of freaky and facile menace that keeps you hanging on." Barbara Elleman of Booklist particularly lauded the character development in The View from the Cherry Tree, commenting that "The characterizations are excellent; Rob never ceases being a normal kid whose family is not uncaring, just too busy." Reviewers have also commended Roberts for her sensitive handling of the subject of child abuse in Don't Hurt Laurie! A critic for Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books wrote, "[Don't Hurt Laurie!] is the most trenchant of the few stories for young readers on the subject of child abuse … the book—which has excellent characterization and an easy narrative flow—is both realistic about the problem and realistically encouraging about its alleviation." Roberts has also been acclaimed for her series of mysteries, such as Megan's Island and The Absolutely True Story … How I Traveled to Yellowstone Park with the Terrible Rupes.

AWARDS

Roberts received the Edgar Allan Poe Award in the junior division from the Mystery Writers of America three times: in 1989 for Megan's Island, in 1995 for The Absolutely True Story … How I Traveled to Yellowstone Park with the Terrible Rupes, and in 1997 for Twisted Summer. Sugar Isn't Everything was named an Outstanding Science Trade Book for Children by the National Science Teachers Association and the Children's Book Council. Roberts is also the recipient of many state awards. In 1986 Roberts was honored by the Pacific Northwest Writers Conference with an Achievement Award, and in 1990 she received the Washington State Governor's Award for Contribution to the Field of Children's Literature for her body of work.

PRINCIPAL WORKS

The View from the Cherry Tree (mystery) 1975

Don't Hurt Laurie! [illustrations by Ruth Sanderson] (young adult fiction) 1977

The Minden Curse [illustrations by Sherry Streeter] (mystery) 1978

The Girl with the Silver Eyes (science fiction) 1980

More Minden Curses [illustrations by Sherry Streeter] (mystery) 1980

House of Fear (mystery) 1983

No Monsters in the Closet (mystery) 1983

The Pet-Sitting Peril (mystery) 1983

Eddie and the Fairy Godpuppy [illustrations by Leslie Morrill] (fiction) 1984

The Sniper (mystery) 1984

Baby-Sitting Is a Dangerous Job (mystery) 1985

The Magic Book (fantasy fiction) 1986

Sugar Isn't Everything (fiction) 1987

Megan's Island (mystery) 1988

Nightmare (mystery) 1989

What Could Go Wrong? (mystery) 1989

To Grandmother's House We Go (mystery) 1990

Scared Stiff (mystery) 1991

Jo and the Bandit (mystery) 1992

What Are We Going To Do about David? (young adult fiction) 1993

The Absolutely True Story … How I Traveled to Yellowstone Park with the Terrible Rupes, No Names Have Been Changed to Protect the Guilty (humor) 1994

Caught! (mystery) 1994

Twisted Summer (mystery) 1996

Secrets at Hidden Valley (mystery) 1997

The Kidnappers (mystery) 1998

Pawns (mystery) 1998

Hostage (mystery) 2000

Buddy Is a Stupid Name for a Girl (mystery) 2001

Undercurrents (mystery) 2002

Rebel (mystery) 2003

TITLE COMMENTARY

THE VIEW FROM THE CHERRY TREE (1975)

Publishers Weekly (review date 14 July 1975)

SOURCE: Publishers Weekly 208, no. 2 (14 July 1975): 60.

An author of some 40 mysteries for adults brings expertise to her first novel for younger readers [The View from the Cherry Tree ]. Nothing, however, says this exciting story can't be enjoyed by grown-ups as well as subteens and teens. Rob is seeking refuge in his favorite hideaway—high in the cherry tree in his yard—more and more often. His home has turned into bedlam, with unending preparations for his sister's wedding. So the boy is perched in his eyrie and sees what happens when someone pushes the next-door neighbor, mean old lady Calloway, out a window. Everyone except the killer thinks Rob is fantasizing; the general belief is that the old woman has lost her balance and fallen to her death. Since Rob doesn't know who the murderer is (all he saw was a hand) he doesn't know whom to avoid, only that someone is after him, a situation which results in teeth-rattling suspense for the reader of an exceptional entertainment.

Barbara Elleman (review date 15 September 1975)

SOURCE: Elleman, Barbara. Booklist 72, no. 2 (15 September 1975): 167-68.

For Rob, the cherry tree has always been a retreat [The View from the Cherry Tree ]; now in particular he finds it a refuge from the family's frantic preparations for his sister's wedding. The tree also provides Rob an opportunity to spy on eccentric old Mrs. Calloway in her Victorian mansion next door. His only aim is to annoy—but instead he witnesses her murder. Taut with suspense, this spell-binding story carries the reader along as Rob attempts in vain to find a listener. His mounting frustration overflows the pages as he is shunted aside until his pleas to be heard reach the ears of the murderer. A dropped pot, a near-miss bullet, and a poisoned cat later, Rob knows his own life is in danger, and he finds himself playing a deadly hide-and-seek game in the Calloway mansion. The characterizations are excellent; Rob never ceases being a normal kid whose family is not uncaring, just too busy. And, although the mystery is solved, the book ends on a slightly ironic, humorous note when Rob laments there is "still that blamed wedding to get through."

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (review date January 1976)

SOURCE: Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books 29, no. 5 (January 1976): 85.

Although written in a direct and unpretentious style, this [The View from the Cherry Tree ] is essentially a sophisticated story, solidly constructed, imbued with suspense, evenly paced, and effective in conveying the atmosphere of a household coping with the last-minute problems and pressures of a family wedding. (There are actually a few too many of these for credibility, the one weakness of the book.) Everybody's too busy to listen to Rob when he tries to tell them that, from his perch in the cherry tree, he has seen their crotchety old neighbor die and that she didn't fall, but was pushed. He'd seen two big hands push her out of the window. Everybody's too busy, that is, except for the murderer; he tries repeatedly to trap Rob (nobody will listen to Rob's stories of near-misses, either) and finally does so in the empty house next door. While the ending is exciting, it may disappoint readers that, although Rob is proved right, there's little evidence of any chagrin on the part of his family. However, on the whole, this is a smooth, well-constructed story.

Kirkus Reviews (review date 1 July 1976)

SOURCE: Kirkus Reviews 43, no. 13 (1 July 1976): 714.

From his secret perch in the cherry tree [A View from the Cherry Tree ], Rob watches a murder next door and then narrowly escapes becoming the killer's next victim … all while his family is preoccupied by the last minute frenzy of sister Darcy's big wedding. Wedding or no, you'd think that finding old lady Calloway hanged in the cherry tree would make more of an impression on Rob's folks, and even the last minute explanations about heroin dealing don't really convince us that Darcy's old boyfriend would put strychnine in Rob's fried chicken. Ultimately the premise wears thin, but this backyard melodrama exudes an aura of freaky and facile menace that keeps you hanging on.

School Library Journal (review date December 1976)

SOURCE: School Library Journal 22, no. 4 (December 1976): 66-7.

Those who demand realism and plausibility in characterization and plot will like The View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts. Eleven-year-old Rob Mallory feels unwanted because his older sister is getting married and his family is preoccupied with the wedding. Rob escapes to his favorite perch high in a cherry tree where he meditates and spits cherry stones through the window of Mrs. Calloway's house next door. Rob is horrified to see a man's arms push Mrs. Calloway out the window to her death. When Rob tries to tell what he saw, hardly anyone will listen to him, and those who do admonish him for telling tall tales. He becomes increasingly frustrated until he tells his story to the murderer—who believes him. In her first book for children, Roberts, an adult mystery writer, has succeeded in combining humor and suspense.

DON'T HURT LAURIE! (1977)

Publishers Weekly (review date 7 March 1977)

SOURCE: Publishers Weekly 211, no. 11 (7 March 1977): 100.

The plight of the battered child is the latest subject to appear in books for young readers. Roberts handles it sensitively in her memorable story [Don't Hurt Laurie! ] of 11-year-old Laurie. Her unbalanced mother, Annabelle, has brutalized the child repeatedly, following the desertion of the woman's first husband, Laurie's father. Married to widower Jack and the stepmother of his younger boy and girl, Annabelle continues to abuse her daughter during Jack's absences; he's a traveling salesman. A kindly man, Jack is puzzled by Laurie's aloofness and by her many "accidents"—cuts, burns, broken bones. After a final assault, when Annabelle nearly kills the child, the truth comes out. Jack takes the psychotic woman to a hospital where she will get help and the three children look forward to a better life. A well-written, memorable story.

Karen Harris (review date April 1977)

SOURCE: Harris, Karen. School Library Journal 23, no. 8 (April 1977): 70.

This tract on child abuse [Don't Hurt Laurie! ]is about as subtle as a lead pipe. Annabelle, Laurie's mother, has uncontrollable fits of rage; Laurie's cuts, bruises, and broken bones are the end result. Laurie's stepbrother, however, is wise to the real cause of her injuries despite Annabelle's lies and attempts at secrecy. Finally, after Laurie is beaten unconscious, Tim takes her to his grandmother who refuses to return the children to Annabelle until she receives psychiatric help and gains some control over her behavior. The characterizations are extremely weak, particularly that of Laurie who seems remarkably unscarred emotionally for a child who has suffered so much abuse, and young readers will have difficulty sympathizing with the mother even though Roberts tries to present her both as victim and villain.

Barbara Elleman (review date 15 April 1977)

SOURCE: Elleman, Barbara. Booklist 73, no. 16 (15 April 1977): 1269.

Laurie's continual burns, bruises, broken bones, and knife cuts are not the result of her clumsiness, as her mother Annabelle claims, but of her mother's physical abuse [Don't Hurt Laurie! ]. Discouraged from having friends, wary of her mother's temper, and constantly forced to change schools to resist prying questions, Laurie lives a lonely, fearful life. Afraid of not being believed and further incurring her mother's wrath, she has never dared tell anyone about her troubles. Now, with Annabelle's second marriage, things seem better for Laurie as she finds understanding in her eight-year-old stepbrother Tim, a friend in a boy next door, and even a potential confidante in her new teacher. Then Annabelle's temper erupts again, resulting in Laurie's being beaten unconscious with a poker. This time Tim defends her, suffering a bruise himself; they escape to his grandmother, where Laurie finally finds someone who believes her. The book ends on an upbeat note (Annabelle is hospitalized), with Laurie fearing her mother may never change but confident that help is nearby. Roberts, author of The View from the Cherry Tree, handles this difficult subject more realistically …, gives more depth to her characters …, but still offers a brighter ending than many a child is likely to find in suffering a similar situation.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (review date June 1977)

SOURCE: Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books 30, no. 10 (June 1977): 164.

This [Don't Hurt Laurie! ] is the most trenchant of the few stories for young readers on the subject of child abuse; while written in third person, it consistently sees developments from the viewpoint of the eleven-year-old protagonist, Laurie. Laurie's father never communicates with her; her mother, who has remarried, periodically assaults her daughter viciously, although she does it only when they are alone. Laurie's stepfather, Jack, is a pleasant man but often away on business trips: her younger stepbrother, Tim, is sympathetic, knowing that Annabelle (Laurie doesn't think of her as "mother") is cruel to his stepsister. The pattern of Laurie's life has been that as soon as she makes a friend or is taken to one emergency room too many times, Annabelle moves. Matters come to a head when Tim witnesses a beating that leaves Laurie insensible. The children take refuge with Tim's grandmother, and when Jack learns the whole story he takes Annabelle away for treatment. The events are inherently dramatic in a shocking sense, but Roberts deals with them matter-of-factly, and the book—which has excellent characterization and an easy narrative flow—is both realistic about the problem and realistically encouraging about its alleviation: first, Laurie learns that people do believe her story when she finally tells it and second, they help her. Roberts also closes with an encouraging note by having Jack explain to Laurie some of the causes of her mother's illness, the changes that therapy should produce, and the fact that he still loves Annabelle, leaving the possibility that she will be a lovable mother when she recovers.

Sally Holmes Holtze (review date August 1977)

SOURCE: Holtze, Sally Holmes. Horn Book Magazine 53, no. 4 (August 1977): 444.

The author of The View from the Cherry Tree tackles the currently popular topic of child abuse [Don't Hurt Laurie! ]. Eleven-year-old Laurie, cruelly mis-treated by her mother since her father deserted them years before, finds herself in the emergency room of a local hospital once more. Because the nurse seems suspicious about the nature of Laurie's frequent injuries—cuts, bruises, and burns—her mother Annabelle decides to move and persuades her new husband, who has two children of his own, to go along with the idea. Laurie understands the true reasons for the move: to end the new friendships she is starting at school and to prevent teachers or nurses from detecting her problem. Annabelle's intentions of isolating Laurie backfire, however; she makes friends with a boy who lives next door to their new house. Her mother's repeated, unprovoked attacks on the girl become more violent; and when Annabelle angrily exclaims, "'I think I could kill you,'" Laurie feels an urgent need to find a way out of her situation. The book's strength lies in the realistic and believable portrayal of the young girl's frustration and helplessness; she does not trust adults and feels that they won't believe her. After Annabelle completely loses control and beats Laurie in front of the other children for the first time, there is a satisfying climax in which the woman's actions are finally revealed to her husband; later it is explained that Annabelle must receive psychiatric help. The illustrator, although not always accurate in detail, has the ability to portray emotions in an amazingly lifelike way.

THE MINDEN CURSE (1978)

Kirkus Reviews (review date 1 April 1978)

SOURCE: Kirkus Reviews 46, no. 7 (1 April 1978): 376.

The Minden Curse —a knack for being at the wrong place at the right time—has obviously been passed on to eleven-year-old Danny. The minute he arrives at Indian Lake to spend the school year while his widowed photo-journalist dad is off in Ireland, Danny lands smack in the middle of two car accidents, a bank robbery, the near-drowning of a baby, and the kidnapping of Sir Angus MacDuff of Kentsbridge, the valuable Silky Terrier of rich Mrs. Trentwood. With the help of his mongrel Leroy (also afflicted with the "curse") and new friends C. B. (Clarissa Beatrix) and Paul, Danny cracks the case and decides that life in Indian Lake may not be so "boring" after all. Although the see-through mystery never once keeps you guessing, some readers may enjoy staying one step ahead of Danny and indeed, this would be pleasantly innocuous fare if not for Roberts' gratuitous sexist slurs. Except for boyish C. B., all the female characters are sourpusses or nincompoops, good only for baking pies or providing a laugh for their bemused, indulgent menfolk.

School Library Journal (review date May 1978)

SOURCE: School Library Journal 24, no. 9 (May 1978): 85.

The Minden Curse affects both Danny and his grandfather, with whom he is living at Indian Lake for the year his father is abroad, by causing them to arrive at the scene of any catastrophe that arises. The "curse" is really considered a blessing by Danny since it enlivens what promises to be a dull stay. Things look up when Danny adopts a gigantic stray mutt named Leroy and makes a new friend. With Clarissa Beatrix "C. B." Hope, Danny seeks the source of mysterious lights in an abandoned cottage by the lake. These investigations lead the kids into the middle of a dognapping plot, and they must race against time to rescue a pedigreed animal in a climax that wraps everything up with spirit. Danny's sexist attitude toward C. B. is annoying and only partially offset by her strong personality. However, although Willo Davis Roberts' plot rambles, it is action-filled and the lakeside setting along with Danny's new-kid insecurity have natural appeal.

Barbara Elleman (review date 1 May 1978)

SOURCE: Elleman, Barbara. Booklist 74, no. 17 (1 May 1978): 1438.

Being stuck in Indian Lake with Gramps and Aunt Mattie [The Minden Curse ] instead of traveling to Ireland with his photographer father is not Danny Minden's idea of an exciting year—until a huge affectionate dog named Leroy, curiosity about a series of strange happenings around town, and a meeting with a spunky girl called C. B. changes Danny's mind. Finding Leroy and himself proudly "afflicted" with the Minden Curse, Aunt Mattie's term for Gramps' propensity for always being present when anything unusual happens, pleases Danny, and the two plunge headlong into solving a mysterious case of petnapping. The offhand first-person narrative is somewhat rambling (perhaps more appropriately told by Gramps than Danny) but results in an easy-flowing, if less than intense, mystery. Roberts draws likable characters in Gramps, Danny, and Leroy and brightens the plot with plenty of humor.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (review date November 1978)

SOURCE: Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books 32, no. 3 (November 1978): 51.

You couldn't convince Danny or Gramps that they didn't have the family curse [The Minden Curse ]of always being on the scene when things went wrong; if there was an accident, one of them was sure to be a witness. Or a bank robbery. They didn't see a valuable dog being kidnapped, but Danny—who had expected to be bored by a summer with Gramps and Aunt Mattie—managed to get on the track of the miscreants. This has writing as smooth as Roberts' earlier books, A View from the Cherry Tree and Don't Hurt Laurie! and it has action and humor, but it doesn't have the same kind of suspense or cohesion.

THE GIRL WITH THE SILVER EYES (1980)

Judie Thoms (review date November 1980)

SOURCE: Thoms, Judie. School Library Journal 27, no. 3 (November 1980): 79.

Silver eyes [The Girl with the Silver Eyes ] are not all that set ten-year-old Katie apart from her peers—she's able to move things by thinking about them and talk to animals. Living with her mother for the first time since she was three, Katie tries to adjust to the other adults in the building, to her mom's male friend, and to her own strange situation. Several encounters with unwelcome sitters and too curious neighbors climax in Katie's successful search for other children with psychokinetic powers whose mothers had been exposed to the same dangerous drug. The plot is smoothly paced, and Katie's character is truly believable.

Publishers Weekly (review date 5 December 1980)

SOURCE: Publishers Weekly 218, no. 23 (5 December 1980): 53.

Author of several splendid thrillers including A View from the Cherry Tree, Roberts tells the humorously hackle-raising tale [The Girl with the Silver Eyes ]of Katie Welker, a 10-year-old whose silver eyes and telekinetic powers have made people fear and avoid her. The young loner moves to her divorced mother's apartment after the death of her grandmother with whom she has lived for six years, and both mother and daughter are ill at ease. Katie determines to curb her powers but can't resist scaring a nasty sitter to get rid of her, causing more problems. Still, life brightens a bit until a stranger moves into the building and begins asking questions about Katie. The worried child runs off, in a desperate search for others she has heard of, three youngsters like herself, for possible answers to her dilemma and to the role of the strange man in their future.

MORE MINDEN CURSES (1980)

School Library Journal (review date May 1980)

SOURCE: School Library Journal 26, no. 9 (May 1980): 86.

Danny Minden from The Minden Curse (1978) is up to his ears in More Minden Curses. Rumor has it their father's fortune is hidden in the spooky house inhabited by elderly "Cat Ladies" Rosie and Anna Caspitorian. Someone is trying to drive the sisters out, as evidenced by several suspicious accidents which have befallen Miss Rosie and ghostly faces seen in the upstairs windows. Danny is trying to help the sisters and at the same time help himself (his initiation into a secret club at school requires that he capture Killer, a ferocious spitfire of a cat owned by the Caspitorians). The task seems hopeless when Killer disappears but Danny's search for the missing cat turns up the missing fortune as well. Indian Lake is the perfect locale for a good story that Willo Davis Roberts has filled with interesting characters, plots, and action.

Barbara Elleman (review date 15 June 1980)

SOURCE: Elleman, Barbara. Booklist 76, no. 20 (15 June 1980): 1534.

In The Minden Curse, Danny found that he, like his grandfather, was afflicted with a strange knack for landing where the action is. Evidence of the so-called curse resurfaces in this more cohesive tale [More Minden Curses ], where Danny finds himself involved with the eccentric Caspitorian sisters, dubbed the Cat Ladies, who live in a large Victorian house. Class bully Frankie challenges Danny to kidnap Killer, the sisters' large, black, feisty feline, and in trying to accomplish the task, Danny is plunged into a mystery, which has both suspenseful and humorous sides. With the help of friend C. B.—and hindrance from his dog, Leroy—he not only shows up Frankie but also helps to discover the old house's secret and to unveil the schemers who plot to outwit the owners. Despite its length, the pace is good and the well-integrated plot has enough appealing elements (ghosts, lost treasure, missing animal) to draw readers along.

Kirkus Reviews (review date 15 July 1980)

SOURCE: Kirkus Reviews 48, no. 14 (15 July 1980): 911.

As in The Minden Curse (1978), eleven-year-old Danny Minden seems to turn up where "funny things happen" (such is the curse); and though few of them would occur outside a juvenile mystery, they do pose some real problems for Danny and bouncy C. B. (Clarissa Beatrix), his fellow newcomer in town. Somebody [More Minden Curses ] is out to make it appear that elderly Cat Ladies Rosie and Anna Caspitorian are too incapacitated and irresponsible to remain in their old castlelike house—where everyone believes their father stashed away a pile of money. Danny's come to know them and like them, so he's concerned; but he has a special interest in ingratiating himself because he's been set the near-impossible task of capturing the sisters' most formidable cat, "Killer," as his initiation into the fifth-grade boys' Secret Club. So when Miss Rosie is hospitalized after another "accident" and Danny is invited to stay with Miss Anna, he welcomes the chance to thwart both the Caspitorians' nasty nephew and their oily neighbors—whose ends (if not means) even the sisters spot—and the chance to bag Killer. Tripping up the money-seekers turns out to be less difficult than netting Killer, who ups and disappears. And why do the sisters, who've assured Danny they have resources nobody suspects, speak of the cat in the same breath? Danny has a flash: the cat's fancy collar—a sign, to some, of the sisters' irresponsibility—might contain real diamonds (he's right); and he has a shock: the cat was overpowered and hidden and left for almost-dead by Danny's nemesis, the club bully. The windup finds the sisters spared further harassment and Danny opting out of the club: it was wrong to think of capturing Killer in the first place. Roberts needn't have had all the other kids follow his lead, but the cat aspect gives this some gut-interest that neither the sisters' familiar predicament nor the transparent villains provide.

HOUSE OF FEAR (1983)

Sally Estes (review date 1 February 1984)

SOURCE: Estes, Sally. Booklist 80, no. 11 (1 February 1984): 809.

Sent to stay with her godmother while her parents are in New York for three months [House of Fear ], 17-year-old Brooke Stannings and her 9-year-old brother, Tim, are confronted by a hostile companion/housekeeper who refuses to let them see Miss Tansy because the old lady has suffered a stroke. When Brooke is unable to get in touch with her parents, the housekeeper reluctantly lets them stay. Brooke's suspicions are aroused not only by the housekeeper and equally surly yardman but also by a young man who answers an ad for a cook to live in the house. Even though the outcome is predictable, the suspense is maintained well enough for nondemanding readers, and a budding romance adds appeal to this latest entry in Scholastic's contemporary gothic line.

Nancy E. Black (review date April 1984)

SOURCE: Black, Nancy E. School Library Journal 30, no. 8 (April 1984): 125.

Formula writing, replete with contrived events, predictable plots and flat characters, [this] book nonetheless [has an] unusual setting with each chapter invariably ending in a cliffhanger.… In House of Fear, Brooke, her brother Tim and friend Jack try to save elderly Tansy Snow from criminals posing as servants attempting to kill Tansy to benefit from her will. This one rates the best in terms of plot, writing and interest level.

NO MONSTERS IN THE CLOSET (1983)

Publishers Weekly (review date 16 December 1983)

SOURCE: Publishers Weekly 224, no. 25 (16 December 1983): 72.

Roberts is one of the well-known, popular authors who are initiating the Escapade line, moderately priced adventures that should be immensely successful. Steve Quentin, 12, narrates the story [No Monsters in the Closet ] of predicaments arising from his curiosity about the three rough men hanging around the old, long-vacant Hanson house in his neighborhood. The galumphing puppy adopted by Steve's little sister snags the loiterers' lunch, hamburgers that the boy recognizes as the best in town, made by Rotten Ralph, and the dog also snatches a watch from the Hanson place. What Steve and his friends find when he returns the watch incites them to hatch a plan to catch the men who seem to be up to no good. And the suspenseful, funny, swift tale whirls to a surprise finish.

Barbara Elleman (review date 15 February 1984)

SOURCE: Elleman, Barbara. Booklist 80, no. 12 (15 February 1984): 861.

Steve, who enjoys scaring his younger sister with stories about monsters in the closet, finds himself in a frightening situation when he begins investigating some strange goings-on in a nearby boarded-up house [No Monsters in the Closet ]. However, it's the family's recently adopted puppy, Sandy, a Great Dane with an insatiable appetite, that propels Steve into the middle of a pirated tape cassette rip-off game headquartered in the old house. Short and readable, this lacks the well-honed style usually found in Roberts' books, but is nevertheless a fast-paced story peopled with characters who have surefire appeal.

Drew Stevenson (review date May 1984)

SOURCE: Stevenson, Drew. School Library Journal 30 (May 1984): 101.

The "Escapade" series will be welcomed by librarians frustrated by the lack of good mysteries for middle-grade readers. It offers large print and short chapters; the unintimidating formats should also attract reluctant readers. While the plots are not particularly distinctive or memorable, they are entertaining and hold interest … In No Monsters in the Closet, Stevie and his buddies investigate a supposedly haunted house and uncover an illegal music tape duplicating ring.

THE PET-SITTING PERIL (1983)

Barbara Elleman (review date 1 March 1983)

SOURCE: Elleman, Barbara. Booklist 79, no. 13 (1 March 1983): 910.

Nick's various pet-sitting jobs take him often to 1230 Hillsdale, an old Victorian house turned apartment building [The Pet-Sitting Peril ]. Although he enjoys his customers (except Eloise, a large, feisty Persian) and their owners (especially feeble Mr. Haggard), Nick finds the unexpectedly dark hallway uncomfortable. Suspicious events build until one night Nick and his friend Stan notice a fire and turn on the alarm only to find themselves prime suspects. The arsonists return again, however, and this time Nick and the pets are the sole occupants of the old house. Roberts uses tension well, inserting touches of humor and some well-developed characters to give the story dimension. This has all the elements of a popular read and is topped off with high-quality writing. A winner.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (review date April 1983)

SOURCE: Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books 36, no. 8 (April 1983): 157.

At first, Nick's only summer job was walking old Mr. Haggard's dog [The Pet-Sitting Peril ]; then other people living in the same building as Mr. Haggard asked Nick to care for their pets. Save for one uncooperative cat, all went well; what bothered Nick was not the pets but something odd about the building. Lights went out just after being replaced; a can of gas disappeared; one dog barked at something or someone; there was a mysterious trash fire that Nick and his friend Sam extinguished. The clues lead logically to a solution, with Sam and the pets triumphing over the two men who have been hired to burn down the building, in a dramatic confrontation that is just a bit contrived. This is not as firmly structured as other books by Roberts, but it has suspense despite the erratic pace; although most of the characters are not fully developed, they are believable, and the writing style is smooth.

Drew Stevenson (review date May 1983)

SOURCE: Stevenson, Drew. School Library Journal 29, no. 9 (May 1983): 93.

Eleven-year-old Nick Reed has a job caring for pets in an old Victorian house [The Pet-Sitting Peril ]. The first clue that something strange is going on is when the porch and hall lights keep going out at night. Then Nick and his friend Sam find the street light off and a fire burning against the back wall of the house. Nick continues to fulfill his pet-sitting responsibilities until one night he finds himself completely alone in the apartment house. Alone, that is, except for the pets and the two arsonists who have returned to finish their torch job. With the help of the pets Nick manages to foil the arsonists and again saves the house. The bungling methods of the arsonists seem contrived to create dramatic situations rather than to be realistic. Fortunately, Nick is a likable soul and the climax is both funny and exciting enough to hold up the overextended plot.

Kirkus Reviews (review date 1 May 1983)

SOURCE: Kirkus Reviews 51, no. 9 (1 May 1983): 524.

Another [The Pet-Sitting Peril ] smooth, tightly-plotted mix of psychological unknotting and scare-surmounting from the author of The Minden Curse and umpteen others. There are animals on the premises again too: the assorted dogs and cats belonging to the assorted tenants of 1230 Hillsdale Street that undersize, nearly-twelve Mike has, to his gratitude, been hired to walk or feed or, when their owners are all variously and simultaneously absent, to sit with. The job gives Mike some leverage with 14-year-old brother Barney, the one member of his largish, all-pitch-in family who rides him. It also hooks him up with new, "real cute" Melody (in Barney's approving assessment), who moves in next door to 1230 and has a way with cats. But chiefly it pitches him into the "mystery" of the disappearing hall lights, the suspicious fire, and finally the arson attempt on the old, unprofitable rental property—by owner Mr. Hale, which any reader will guess from his first, carefully planted gripes. Still and all, reasonably snappy and pretty informative on the fire department/arson scene.

EDDIE AND THE FAIRY GODPUPPY (1984)

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (review date March 1984)

SOURCE: Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books 37, no. 7 (March 1984): 134.

This [Eddie and the Fairy Godpuppy ] might almost have been designed as a television script, since it has a sure-fire plot (a scamp of an orphan who gets adopted by the person for whom he cares most) and an engaging protagonist, and a puppy smuggled into a Children's Home, and a kindly handyman, and a cross housekeeper. Fortunately, the style is light, and the story is believably concocted if not impressive in either theme or structure.

Irene Cooper (review date 15 March 1984)

SOURCE: Cooper, Irene. Booklist 80, no. 14 (15 March 1984): 1066.

Eddie [Eddie and the Fairy Godpuppy ] is a 10-year-old orphan who lives at the small Riverpark Children's Home. He is sure he will be there until he is a man—who wants to adopt a homely, red-haired kid who's always spilling or breaking things? Miss Susan, the school administrator, adores Eddie and tries to persuade him he's wrong, but the strict matron, Miss Mundy, agrees with the boy's assessment of himself and his situation. When a puppy appears on the grounds under strange circumstances, Eddie willingly accepts the explanation given to him by the handyman: the dog is magic. Maybe he is even Eddie's fairy godpuppy. Eddie sure could use one, so he names the dog F. G. P. For an animal that's supposed to be magic, F. G. P. manages to cause as much trouble as Eddie. Young readers will like the gentle, often humorous story that evolves as Eddie tries to keep the puppy away from the allergic matron and other prying eyes. There is even some pathos when Eddie learns that his best friend is leaving and that Miss Susan is getting married and moving away. But the ending will seem pat even to this crowd. Eddie is adopted by Miss Susan and her husband on their wedding day, and F. G. P. is given to Eddie by the handyman who took him so he wouldn't be discovered. Easily read, lower middle-grade fare.

Marguerite F. Raybould (review date May 1984)

SOURCE: Raybould, Marguerite F. School Library Journal 30, no. 9 (May 1984): 84.

Nine-year-old Eddie is convinced he will be left at the Riverpark Children's Home forever [Eddie and the Fairy Godpuppy ]. He finds an abandoned puppy, and Mr. Caw, who is painting the orphanage, suggests the puppy may be magic: a fairy godpuppy. Eddie clings to this belief in the hope that he may get a real family. When Eddie's dream of living with Mr. Caw and his wife falls through and his favorite social worker announces her plans to marry and move away, he is bereft and plans to run away. Slight humor comes from Eddie's accident-prone tendencies, and minor suspense is supplied by hiding the puppy; there is not enough of either to keep the story moving. Also, Eddie and the other characters are two-dimensional and their conversations are lackluster; the comparison of Eddie's youthful impulsiveness with the puppy's is forced. Most readers will not read as far as the predictable, happy ending in which Eddie gets a loving family—and F. G. P. to keep.

THE SNIPER (1984)

Kirkus Reviews (review date 15 February 1984)

SOURCE: Kirkus Reviews 52, no. 4 (15 February 1984): 176.

In a small town near Seattle [The Sniper ] live Jane Madison, her twelve-year-old brother Teddy, and their widowed mother Muriel—a trio on the hard-working edge of poverty. Then Jane inherits a big Victorian house from miserly Uncle Addison; his aged, active sister/housekeeper Bea comes with the property. And so, in short order, Jane and Bea are joining forces, renting extra rooms to some of Bea's friends and enjoying a slightly improved quality of life. But … what about that series of killings of elderly neighborhood women? Or the subsequent near-killing of Charlie Silvers, one of the house's boarders? Or an attack on Muriel inside the house? Jane, a bright young thing, quits her job, finds another, starts a new romance with handsome policeman Jeff Carey—and even has time to figure out the killer's identity … with the reader way ahead of her. Still: a mildly entertaining, cheerful, unpretentious story—supplying a fair measure of suspense on the way to a happy ending.

Publishers Weekly (review date 23 March 1984)

SOURCE: Publishers Weekly 225, no. 12 (23 March 1984): 68.

The inheritance of an old boarding-house and its odd assortment of lodgers ends, for a time, the financial woes of young Jane Madison, her mother Muriel and her kid brother Teddy [The Sniper ]. There's trouble, though, in the neighborhood they've moved into—a sniper is on the loose, shooting elderly women. When Teddy stumbles onto the body of a fresh victim and Muriel is attacked one night on the stairs, Jane must contend with the attentions of a handsome, concerned policeman and her own growing suspicion that the murderer is an inhabitant of the house. Briskly moving and filled with vignettes of daily life—shopping malls, bingo games, boring jobs—this is another satisfying offering from the veteran mystery author.

Diana Hirsch (review date October 1984)

SOURCE: Hirsch, Diana. School Library Journal 31, no. 2 (October 1984): 177.

Roberts is up to her suspenseful best in this mystery [The Sniper ] which will appeal to her fans as well as those of Mary Higgins Clark. Jane Madison led a dull life, working for an insurance company, dating an unexciting man and living with her 12-year-old brother and widowed mother. When she inherits a large Victorian house from a distant uncle, she converts it into a boarding home for several elderly women and enjoys her independence. The murder of two elderly women within a few blocks of her new house destroys her sense of security and well-being, and the terror increases when it becomes apparent that she might be the sniper's next victim. Fast, spine-tingling reading with a hint of romance. The only drawback is the book's dull cover.

BABY-SITTING IS A DANGEROUS JOB (1985)

Publishers Weekly (review date 22 February 1985)

SOURCE: Publishers Weekly 227, no. 7 (22 February 1985): 157.

Roberts's latest [Baby-Sitting Is a Dangerous Job ] matches her previous mysteries in electrifying suspense and introduces an appealing 13-year-old heroine, the narrator Darcy. Sitting afternoons with the three Foster offspring is grueling, but Darcy regards the fat fee as worth the trouble. Then comes the day when kidnappers invade the house and carry off the children, forcing Darcy to go with them when she lets slip the fact that she recognizes them. The older man is the father of Darcy's classmate Diane, who has run away from home to escape his beatings. The others are Diane's no-good brothers. Aware that the survival of her charges and herself depends on persuading them to trust and obey her, Darcy proves to be a remarkably dependable and courageous girl in the crises that ramify from the crime. Readers will applaud her triumph, which also effects Diane's release from a brutal household.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (review date March 1985)

SOURCE: Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books 38, no. 7 (March 1985): 134.

Darcy, the thirteen-year-old narrator, thought she had been trailed by two men in a black car on the day she first interviewed for the babysitting job [Baby-Sitting Is a Dangerous Job ]. But she must have been wrong, why would they be interested in her? They weren't; as Darcy realized all too soon, the men had been gathering information before kidnapping the three children with whom she was sitting; it was the wealthy Fosters who were the ransom victims, and Darcy had simply been picked up because she had blurted out the fact that she knew who the men were (the father and brothers of a physically abused classmate). Darcy and the oldest Foster (Jeremy, six) outwit the kidnappers in a believable way, their ploy taking place just as the police come to the rescue. The story has good style and structure, suspense and brisk pace, and a much subtler presentation of characters and relationships than is usually found in an adventure story.

Kirkus Reviews (review date 1 March 1985)

SOURCE: Kirkus Reviews 53, nos. 1-5 (1 March 1985): J-13.

Don't toss off the title [Baby-Sitting Is a Dangerous Job ] as a joke: true, narrator Darcy (rising "thirteen and a half") has her hands full sitting for the privileged, under-parented Foster young: Shana, two; Melissa, four; Jeremy, six. But this is about their kidnapping, Darcy in tow: a horror scenario that, for better or worse, isn't credible or scary. (No nightmares are in prospect—neither is edge-of-the-chair reading.) The very day that Darcy goes for her interview with "Mrs./Dr. Foster" (a psychiatrist, wouldn't you know), a black car tails her. Said black car is suspiciously around at other times too—but maybe just out of male interest in Darcy and boy crazyish friend Irene (the most natural thought here). Meanwhile Darcy is deciding, with some OK help from her mother, that the Foster children crave attention. And also meanwhile, classmate Diana Hazen, whose father beats her, has run away again: Darcy and Irene hide her, provisionally, in a tree house. Putting one and one together, it's the Hazens (father, brothers) who've been casing the Foster domicile, and who now abduct Darcy and the tots. The book's second, sluggish half has to do with Darcy's attempt to fool or foil the captors. There's an oafish brother who lets down his guard playing TV games with whiz-kid Jeremy; there are guard dogs with a weakness for little children. And, the ransom paid, all ends well and properly: the kids are in hiding, when the police arrive. At one point Darcy wisely doesn't open the Foster door for a suspect repairman; and the discussion of runaway Diana's legal/social welfare situation is instructive. But in general Roberts is out of her wholesome, whimsical element here.

School Library Journal (review date May 1985)

SOURCE: School Library Journal 31, no. 9 (May 1985): 110.

Thirteen-year-old Darcy Stevens discovers that Baby-Sitting Is a Dangerous Job when she agrees to care for the three children of the wealthy Fosters. A black car seems to follow her just after she accepts the job; a man claiming to be from the gas company tries to get into the house, and the house's burglar alarm suddenly goes off. Before she knows what's happening, Darcy and the children are kidnapped and taken to a remote house in the country. When Darcy recognizes her captors and lets them know that she knows who they are, she has to wonder if they can afford to let her go even after Mr. Foster has paid the ransom money. Still, Darcy keeps her wits about her and, although locked in the house with the kidnappers plus two ferocious guard dogs, she helps to guide rescuers in while keeping her captors at bay. Kidnapping stories for young readers have been done before, and Roberts breaks no new ground here. She has, however, written a solid suspense story and given a very resourceful young girl plenty of chances to show her mettle.

Irene Cooper (review date 1 May 1985)

SOURCE: Cooper, Irene. Booklist 81, no. 17 (1 May 1985): 1258.

Darcy has done some baby-sitting before, but never for three such potentially bratty children [Baby Sitting Is a Dangerous Job ]. Jeremy, Melissa, and Shana Foster are the children of a psychiatrist mother and banker father. Their house boasts a swimming pool, giant playhouse, and every game and toy seen on television. What the kids lack, however, is parental attention, and Darcy is relieved she will only be baby-sitting while the Fosters' housekeeper is having daily appointments with the dentist. Almost immediately, however, strange things begin happening, and it seems as though someone is trying to break into the house. Though Darcy performs her sitting responsibilities well, she cannot prevent a kidnapping that finds her and her charges in the hands of three dangerous men. Roberts' decision to link the kidnappers to an abused schoolmate of Darcy's seems forced, but the rest of the story moves along briskly as Darcy and the three children use their wits to escape from their captors. A solid adventure with more than a few spine-tingling moments.

Childhood Education (review date September-October 1985)

SOURCE: Childhood Education 62, no. 1 (September-October 1985): 56.

A likable, competent 13-year-old [Baby-Sitting Is a Dangerous Job ] finds herself matching wits with a trio of kidnappers holding her and her three wealthy young charges in a deserted estate. Six-year-old Jeremy, her former aggressive opponent, now becomes her ally as the two of them tame the guard dogs and set loose a nest of angry wasps on the kidnappers. Well plotted and subplotted, this makes entertaining reading.

THE MAGIC BOOK (1986)

Virginia Golodetz (review date May 1986)

SOURCE: Golodetz, Virginia. School Library Journal 32, no. 9 (May 1986): 97.

A book of magic spells and potions falls mysteriously into 12-year-old Alex's hands [The Magic Book ]. When the book opens itself to a page describing a spell that will make a bully change his ways, Alex knows that this is just what he needs to deal with Norman, the class bully. Alex and two friends try the spell on Norman, and they stalk him to see what will happen. It is unclear which is more effective in teaching Norman that it hurts to be a victim—the injury he receives during the earthquake that occurs after the spell is cast or the unnerving effect of being stalked. Exciting events such as boilers blowing up and midnight visits to graveyards are attention-getters, but they overshadow Alex's accomplishment of being able to stand up to the bully when he terrorizes Alex's younger brother. Alex knows that the self-confidence he gains by his act of bravery will help him more than magic spells, but readers might miss the point. Magic potions that smoke and smell, combined with a bully story, are sure to interest young readers. The main characters are well developed and the story moves along briskly, but it is too bad that the theme of learning to stand up to a bully gets muddled by the magic.

Irene Cooper (review date 15 May 1986)

SOURCE: Cooper, Irene. Booklist 82, no. 18 (15 May 1986): 1400.

When Alex goes to the library's used book sale, he notices a strange thing [The Magic Book ]. An old black book that keeps inexplicably tumbling off the table has his name in it. The title—Magic Spells and Potions for the Beginner—is certainly intriguing, and the spell that describes how to disarm a bully speaks directly to Alex' current problem. Norm Winthrop, who delights in getting kids into trouble or giving them the sly push—or worse—always has his eye on Alex. Alex takes the book home, but when he looks for the bully spell, he can't seem to find it. There are, however, other charms that look interesting; Alex and his friends, in whom he has confided, give them a try. Naturally, the unexpected happens, and when the time comes to hex Norm, that too works itself out in a peculiar way. The story has a couple of hexes too many, but its humor, good pace, and mysterious happenings have innate appeal. At the book's conclusion, it is Norm who has the magic book, paving the way for a possible sequel.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (review date June 1986)

SOURCE: Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books 39, no. 10 (June 1986): 195.

The narrator [The Magic Book ], Alex, resents being persecuted by Norm Winthrop, the school bully. Therefore when he finds a book of directions for magical spells, his one goal is casting a spell that will repel a bully. Oddly, although he's seen the title for such a spell, it then disappears from the book. Alex and his chum try a few other spells which do seem to work; eventually the bully-spell turns up again, the fateful ingredients are mixed, and they work. Or do they? Like every previous spell, there's the alternative possibility of a logical explanation. That the book of the title introduces a fantasy element, there's no question, since there are several episodes in which it moves by itself. This isn't a very convincing blend of realism and fantasy, and although it has some humor and is written with brisk pace and casual flow, it is weaker in structure and development than most of the author's previous books.

Kirkus Reviews (review date 1 June 1986)

SOURCE: Kirkus Reviews 54, no. 11 (1 June 1986): 866-67.

An old book of magic [The Magic Book ] falls into Alex's life from a table at a book sale. He sees his name written on the flyleaf; inside is a recipe for a "Spell to end a bully's ways," which seems the solution to Alex's worst problem: an archetypical monster of a classmate, Norm.

Then the spell for bullies seems to vanish, but others tempt Alex and his friends to assemble such things as rat's toenails and tombstone moss and work spells to close school on Friday, raise their grades, and eliminate delays in the bathroom. Finally, after Norm has taken Alex's little brother and has become Nazi-like in nastiness, the spell to squelch a bully reappears. Many spells come together in one grand denouement; Alex, terrified by his success, dumps the fatal book at another book sale. He sees Norm approach—and the book falls open at the bully's feet.

Although Alex and his friends are muzzy at first, they become well-turned people by the end. Norm, however, is so one-sidedly evil that a scene in which his mother yells at him would evoke sympathy from any other mother, rather than pity for the bully. When Norm is endowed with magic powers, the threat of violence is disconcerting. While Alex has learned that using magic can get out of control, the bully has a different ethic; we are not convinced that Alex's spell will "put an end to the bully's ways."

SUGAR ISN'T EVERYTHING (1987)

Publishers Weekly (review date 13 March 1987)

SOURCE: Publishers Weekly 231, no. 8 (13 March 1987): 85.

With this coping-with-diabetes novel [Sugar Isn't Everything ], Roberts sets out mainly to provide information, since she herself is a recently diagnosed diabetic. Still, her fictional format works smoothly. Eleven-year-old Amy wonders what's wrong—she's ravenous, can't get enough juice and has to run to the bathroom often. After she collapses, her disease is diagnosed and she begins the long road toward adjustment. Readers find out that forward-thinking hospitals allow children to visit patients, hold classes and support groups for adolescents and give people the courage to inject themselves. Roberts infuses her characters with believable thoughts and emotions—Amy wonders if she'll ever feel normal again and realizes people are glad they don't have her bad luck. A useful book for other chronic illnesses as well, particularly its discussion of anger.

Patricia Manning (review date May 1987)

SOURCE: Manning, Patricia. School Library Journal 33, no. 8 (May 1987): 103-04.

While this [Sugar Isn't Everything ] reads like a case history or a manual for newly diagnosed diabetics, it also will have appeal for readers of realistic problem novels. Amy, 11, is hiding her diabetic symptoms as the book begins, not knowing what they are. Her overwhelming hunger and thirst, her fatigue, and her frequent need to urinate are masked with the determination that only a budding adolescent who doesn't want to appear "different" can muster. Complete collapse ensues, and friends, family, teachers, and Amy herself must make the painful, permanent adjustments to her new condition. It's difficult for all, but more so for Amy because the adjustments are forever. As Amy discovers, diabetes is a lonely disease, for diabetics look—and are—well while their systems are in balance, so support, empathy, and sympathy from others can be spasmodic, even when welcome. While the plot follows a predictable line, and most of the characters never truly come to life, the book is empathy-inducing. For young diabetics, it is bibliotherapy. For non-diabetics, it is informative about a silent, potentially life-threatening illness and its treatment. It certainly has a place on the shelf—and may circulate a good deal of the time.

MEGAN'S ISLAND (1988)

Publishers Weekly (review date 26 February 1988)

SOURCE: Publishers Weekly 233, no. 8 (26 February 1988): 198.

Megan and her brother never thought about their tumbleweed life-style [Megan's Island ]; Mother is on the go, always looking for a better job. But this time their mother packs them up without allowing Megan to tell her best friend. Megan and Sandy are worried; their mother seems frightened and tells them they'll be "safe" with Grandfather in the lake country of Minnesota. Someone is looking for them, and though Grandfather doesn't tell them everything, Megan is able to piece together the story. Years before, their father was jailed and Megan's wealthy paternal grandfather tried to wrest Sandy and Megan from their mother. A couple of bad guys show up, but they are foiled, leaving Megan and her family to sort out their problems and stop running at last. Appealing setting and engaging subplots add much to this entertaining, if somewhat predictable novel.

Ruth Sadasivan (review date April 1988)

SOURCE: Sadasivan, Ruth. School Library Journal 34, no. 8 (April 1988): 104.

Megan Collier [Megan's Island ] is shocked when her mother takes her and her brother, Sandy, to their grandfather's isolated cottage in the middle of the night without a word of explanation. Megan is further disturbed by evidence that three strangers are spying on them. With their mother away and their grandfather injured, Megan and Sandy turn to their nearest neighbor, a smart but sometimes obnoxious boy named Ben, for help. Suspense is built slowly but convincingly. With the exception of a few shadowy minor characters, the people are well rounded. Ben is especially complex. Unfortunately, in portraying Megan's gradual acceptance of Ben as a friend, Roberts comes suspiciously close to moralizing. His family situation, being shuttled back and forth between divorced parents, neither of whom appears to want him, contrasts a little too neatly with Megan and Sandy's situation of being sought after by too many people. Despite these flaws and occasional plot lapses into predictability and implausibility, Megan's Island succeeds both as an entertaining mystery and as a novel about human relationships.

NIGHTMARE (1989)

Publishers Weekly (review date 25 August 1989)

SOURCE: Publishers Weekly 236, no. 8 (25 August 1989): 64.

Seventeen-year-old Nick Corelli enters a world of exciting drama when a man falls from an overpass and crashes onto his car [Nightmare ]. Although the incident is ruled suicide, Nick is haunted by the terrified expression on the victim's face, and is convinced that the man had no intention of taking his own life. In order to escape the ordeal which has brought him recurring nightmares, Nick plans a trip to visit his older brother in Texas. After crossing the Arizona border, Nick discovers that a neighbor, 15-year-old Daisy, has stowed away in the back of his parents' motor home. It is Daisy who first notices that they are being followed by the same blue Thunderbird that was spotted near the scene of Nick's accident. Action rises to a climax when Nick and Daisy fail to give their pursuers the slip and are cornered in Galveston. Readers may piece together the clues of this mystery more quickly than the protagonist. Although characters and plot appear somewhat formulaic and action is unevenly paced, this novel offers enough suspense to gratify most action/adventure fans.

Maria B. Salvadore (review date September 1989)

SOURCE: Salvadore, Maria B. School Library Journal 35, no. 13 (September 1989): 276.

Seventeen-year-old Nick Corelli's life had been going along fairly well until [Nightmare ], in one nightmarish day, his steady girl drops him, the relationship with his new stepfather becomes shakier, and a man falling from an overpass smashes into his windshield. That night, someone breaks into his home and shoots Nick's dog. The police rule Paul Valerian's death a suicide, but Nick's nightmares continue as he recalls the look on the man's face, a look that clearly ruled out suicide. To get away for a while, Nick drives the family's motorhome from California to Texas to visit his brother, but instead of getting away, he finds himself in the middle of a murderous adventure. This taut mystery is satisfyingly resolved, as are Nick's relationships. It is a mostly plausible tale which moves along at a fast pace, and most of the characters are likable and interact believably. Some, however, are clichéd; the bad guys with Italian names, Sal and Vito, are Mafia-like, shadowy, and remorseless. Nonetheless, Roberts has created a convincing enough thriller that is comparable to her View from the Cherry Tree (1975).

Ethel R. Twichell (review date November 1989)

SOURCE: Twichell, Ethel R. Horn Book Magazine 65, no. 6 (November 1989): 776.

Having a man's body hurtle down from an overpass onto the hood of his car is a horrifying and unnerving experience for seventeen-year-old Nick Corelli [Nightmare ] and a dramatic beginning to an absorbing tale of pursuit and excitement. Although entirely innocent of causing the accident, Nick now finds other odd and threatening events beginning to follow him. His family's house is broken into, and only Nick's room is torn apart during the intruder's hasty search. Later, driving the family motor home through desert country to visit his brother, Nick and his next-door neighbor Daisy—an unwarranted stowaway—find they are being followed mile after mile by a blue Thunderbird and a red Camaro. The author sustains the pace well and develops Nick's grudging acceptance of "dorky" Daisy into a companionable and perhaps even affectionate relationship. The menace of their unknown pursuers is carefully maintained, growing in gradual stages from mere uneasiness to a wild and exciting finale. As in many suspense stories, the conclusion seems a bit farfetched, but the reader has been given a good ride.

Jim Lauritsen (review date March 1990)

SOURCE: Lauritsen, Jim. Book Report 8, no. 5 (March 1990): 34-5.

Nick begins his day on the wrong foot when he finds his steady girl with a college man. Upset, he goes home but finds no sympathy from his apathetic step-father. So Nick goes out for a ride, and, as he drives under an overpass, a man falls and lands on his car. The police write this off as a suicide, but Nick cannot forget the man's expression as he hit the car and is not convinced. Also, an eyewitness confirms that the dead man was not alone on the overpass. Now the nightmare really begins. A series of disasters befall Nick, including his dog being shot by an intruder and his home being broken into and his room ransacked. Nick cannot figure out who is looking for something he has, nor does he know what he has that anyone would want. In order to get away from his troubles, Nick takes his family's motorhome from California to visit his brother in Texas. He finds his 16-year-old neighbor, Daisy, has stowed away on the motorhome, which is followed all the way to Texas by two men who match descriptions of those seen on the overpass just before the one man fell. This story reads quickly with a tight plot. The reader is kept in suspense until the end, when the reason that the men follow Nick is revealed: He (unknowingly) had the dead man's keys to a locker of money, and the bad guys are bank robbers. Characters are well drawn, and Nick develops nicely from his experiences.

WHAT COULD GO WRONG? (1989)

Bruce Ann Shook (review date March 1989)

SOURCE: Shook, Bruce Ann. School Library Journal 35, no. 7 (March 1989): 178.

An enjoyable if somewhat slow-moving mystery/adventure tale [What Could Go Wrong? ]. When their Aunt Molly invites cousins Gracie, Eddie, and Charlie to fly from Seattle to San Francisco for a visit, they are elated. Before they board the airplane, Gracie picks up a discarded newspaper and befriends an elderly woman who is nervous about flying. These seemingly innocent actions lead to an unscheduled landing due to a bomb threat, a mugging of the old woman, and the children's growing conviction that someone is out to get them. The mystery centers around the newspaper, which contains a message concealed in the crossword puzzle. By the time they reach San Francisco, the young people have deciphered the message, been locked in a room by money-laundering criminals, and rescued by an FBI agent. Gracie, 11, narrates this tale of intrigue. She comes across as a friendly, likable character with a penchant for helping others and a strong desire to stay out of trouble. Charlie, the oldest and most sophisticated of the trio, has a reputation for turning any event he is involved with into trouble, but this time the trouble finds him. Eddie, the youngest, is naive but feisty. In places readers may wish for less talk and more action, although toward the end there is plenty of excitement as the children are pursued and captured by the criminals. The offense—laundering money—may be hard for young readers to understand. Overall, this is a welcome contribution to collections in which mysteries are in demand.

Publishers Weekly (review date 24 March 1989)

SOURCE: Publishers Weekly 235, no. 12 (24 March 1989): 72.

When cousins Gracie, Charlie and Eddie are invited to fly to San Francisco to visit their Aunt Molly [What Could Go Wrong? ], Gracie's mother decides they may go, musing "What could go wrong?" If only she had known about the man in the Hawaiian shirt carrying a newspaper with a mysterious code written on it. Or about the bomb threat that forces the plane to make an unscheduled landing in Portland. Or about the strange disappearance of Mrs. Basker, a kind, old lady who befriends the children on the airplane. Since it is her first plane trip, Gracie wonders if her imagination is teasing her; then she realizes that she and her cousins are inadvertently involved in an exciting, frightening adventure. Lively prose and strong characterizations make an ordinary event—a first plane ride—into an extraordinary backdrop for a mystery. Roberts's clever plot enhances the suspenseful and unexpectedly humorous story.

Nancy Vasilakis (review date May 1989)

SOURCE: Vasilakis, Nancy. Horn Book Magazine 65, no. 3 (May 1989): 373.

For those who never have enough books to satisfy the appetites of that vast middle-grade audience looking for another good mystery, this book [What Could Go Wrong? ] will fit the bill nicely. Three cousins, led by the irresistible but accident-prone Charlie, are waiting at the airport in Seattle for a plane to take them to visit their aunt in San Francisco. Gracie, the female component of this threesome, innocently picks up a newspaper with a coded message penciled into the crossword puzzle, and the game is on. By the time she realizes her mistake, the cousins have endured bomb threats, have been witness to the mugging of a fellow passenger, and have found a briefcase full of money, all the while being followed from Seattle to Portland to San Francisco by a suspicious-looking character. They finally come up against an FBI agent with whose help they capture the criminals—members, it turns out, of an international stolen-car ring. Most of the action takes place in airport terminals, where the rushed, impersonal ambience adds to the breathless tone of the narrative. Cliff-hanging chapter endings build suspense, and well-developed main characters lend substance. While the book doesn't possess the taut, dense qualities of the author's thriller The View from the Cherry Tree, it's just as hard to put down.

TO GRANDMOTHER'S HOUSE WE GO (1990)

Barbara Hutcheson (review date April 1990)

SOURCE: Hutcheson, Barbara. School Library Journal 36, no. 4 (April 1990): 122.

To avoid being sent to separate foster homes while their mother recuperates from a heart attack [To Grandmother's House We Go ], Rosie, 10, and her two brothers run away to the grandmother they have never met because of a long-term family rift. They find their grandmother, but she is distinctly unwelcoming, and her house, rather than being a refuge, is as cold as she. Their Uncle George seems friendlier, but there is a third, unseen resident, an obscure face at an upstairs window, a visitor in the night, that both their grandmother and their uncle pretend to ignore. Rosie and the boys now face the triple dilemma of convincing Grandmother to keep them, of wanting to solve the family mystery, and of dealing with their fear of having to live, even briefly, in a house that appears to be haunted. This seems to be the season for Jane Eyre spin-offs, with this novel leaning even more heavily on the Victorian classic than Hila Feil's Blue Moon (1990). This may be because the age level at which Roberts is aiming is too young to have read the original. But, without giving away the game, the formula is there and will be recognizable to more experienced readers. This being so, the solution of the mystery is a little too predictable. However, Roberts has a real sense of how children view the sometimes puzzling behavior of adults and the ability to depict their reactions believably. Most of the story is seen through the eyes of Rosie, but older Kevin and younger Nathan have distinct personalities as well. Refreshingly, adult characters are not reduced to the stereotypes too often found in contemporary children's novels. The runaway plan and its resolution are realistically developed. Suspense is well maintained, and is just scary enough, making this a good addition to mystery shelves.

Ethel R. Twichell (review date May 1990)

SOURCE: Twichell, Ethel R. Horn Book Magazine 66, no. 3 (May 1990): 335-36.

Imagine a combination of Jane Eyre and Cynthia Voigt's Homecoming, and you have another of Willo Davis Roberts's well plotted and absorbing mysteries [To Grandmother's House We Go ]. With their father dead, their mother seriously ill in a hospital, and assignment to foster homes a real possibility, Kevin, Rosie, and Nate run away and arrive on the doorstep of their stern, unwelcoming grandmother and their elderly Uncle George. Grudgingly—and temporarily—allowed to stay in the rundown old house, they quickly become aware of puzzling inconsistencies. In a house without visitors, why is there a third rocking chair on the porch? Whose is the face peering out of an upstairs window? Just who paid a midnight visit to Rosie's room and left a small bunch of flowers? Kevin, Rosie, and Nate also wonder why, years ago, their grandmother had given away her young daughters—the children's mother and aunt—instead of raising them herself. The puzzles are all satisfactorily solved with enough suspense and creepiness thrown in to keep young readers interested right up to the final moment.

SCARED STIFF (1991)

Diane Roback and Richard Donahue (review date 21 December 1990)

SOURCE: Roback, Diane, and Richard Donahue. Publishers Weekly 237, no. 51 (21 December 1990): 57.

Once again Roberts (The Magic Book ; Nightmare ) has written an enticing, suspenseful mystery for young readers [Scared Stiff ]. Rick, 11, knows his mother did not abandon him and his younger brother Kenny, even if the police do not believe them. Rick had seen her talking anxiously with someone in a black car, and he is convinced this is related to Ma's disappearance. While she is missing, the boys stay with their uncle, who lives in a trailer adjacent to the deserted Wonderland Amusement Park. The brothers explore the park with adventurous Julie and Connie, who befriend them. Since the police are unwilling to investigate, Connie convinces Rick that they must track down Ma themselves. The plot's exciting climax takes place in Wonderland's slippery, winding Pirate's Cave. The clever sleuthing and intriguing setting will make readers want to ride this one to the finish.

Connie Tyrrell Burns (review date March 1991)

SOURCE: Burns, Connie Tyrrell. School Library Journal 37, no. 3 (March 1991): 194, 196.

Eleven-year-old narrator Rick Van Huler learns that troubles do indeed come in threes [Scared Stiff ]: a load of TVs is stolen from his father's tractor-trailer rig, his father walks out after an argument with his mother, who is then kidnapped. Rick and his younger brother go to live with their great-uncle Henry in his converted school bus in an RV park across from Wonderland, a shutdown amusement park. While searching for their mother, the boys uncover a hijacking operation and an insurance scam. The theme of abandonment pervades the novel and, as a symbol of this, the amusement park provides a suspenseful, spooky backdrop. The brisk pace, fluid style, and excitement of the novel are sure to entertain readers, while the sensitive handling of such issues as separation and alcoholism, and the not-perfect ending make the book a cut above the general fare. The title and book jacket will attract readers, and they won't be disappointed in Roberts's latest offering.

JO AND THE BANDIT (1992)

Chris Sherman (review date 1 June 1992)

SOURCE: Sherman, Chris. Booklist 88, no. 19 (1 June 1992): 1754.

This [Jo and the Bandit ] has everything a junior high school reader could possibly want: a capable, orphaned heroine who must overcome her uncle's prejudice against girls; a post-Civil War Texas setting; danger, excitement, tornadoes; and a hint of romance with a handsome young bandit. After their mother's death, Jo and her younger brother are sent by stagecoach to their bachelor uncle, a storeowner and local Texas judge who has a reputation for being a "hanging judge." When the stagecoach is robbed, Jo observes the bandits carefully and is able to describe and even draw a picture of them. Later, however, Jo hides one of the bandits, the stepson of the gang leader, and helps him escape. In an exciting climax, she saves the day after her uncle's plan to use her as bandit bait fails. Roberts describes the restrictive social conventions, the dust and heat, and the rigid frontier justice of a late 1860s Texas quite convincingly, and 12-year-old Jo is appealing and believable—even if she is a shade bossy. The adventure will be fun and easy to booktalk, and it will fill the bill quite nicely when students need historical fiction for book reports.

Jeanette Larson (review date July 1992)

SOURCE: Larson, Jeanette. School Library Journal 38, no. 7 (July 1992): 74.

Jo and Andrew Whitman [Jo and the Bandit ] are moving temporarily to west Texas to live with their uncle, Judge Macklin, until their aunt can come up from Galveston to take over both their deceased grandmother's house in east Texas and their care. En route to Muddy Wells, the stagecoach in which they are travelling is robbed by masked bandits, and the pair unexpectedly find themselves involved in the frontier justice system. Jo's artistic talent puts their lives in jeopardy when the bandits discover that she can draw pictures of them and their horses for the wanted posters. But when one of the bandits makes a purchase at the general store where she is working, Jo realizes that he is too young and gentle to really be a criminal. She tries to help him and to convince her uncle not to prosecute him with the rest of the villains. Some readers may feel that the pace moseys a bit, but it is refreshing to find a strong-minded, independent female protagonist in a genre usually overwhelmed by bonnets and gingham. Roberts has spiced up a light Western with just the right touch of mystery.

WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO ABOUT DAVID? (1993)

Publishers Weekly (review date 1 March 1993)

SOURCE: Publishers Weekly 240, no. 9 (1 March 1993): 58.

Since David's father is going to be on the road this summer, and his mother will be working in Hawaii, David is sent to his grandmother's [What are We Going to Do about David? ]. The 11-year-old can't imagine staying with her—"it would be like going to live with a stranger"—in a dreary town on the Washington coast. Even though his parents have been fighting, he misses them. Before long, though, the boy grows to love his grandmother and the countryside, and it will come as no surprise to readers that when David's parents return for him, his grandmother fiercely defends the boy and wants to keep him with her. Though somewhat lacking in humor and characterization, David's affecting story represents the plight of many children of troubled families. The boy's quandaries are credibly presented; his tale may prove inviting primarily to those readers who prefer contemporary family life distilled into black and white, with heroes and villains clearly delineated.

Julie Corsaro (review date 15 March 1993)

SOURCE: Corsaro, Julie. Booklist 89, no. 14 (15 March 1993): 1322.

After overhearing a conversation between his parents about an impending separation [What are We Going to Do about David? ], 11-year-old David is abruptly sent to the Washington coast to spend the summer with the grandmother he barely knows. In contrast to his critical mother, Grandma Ruthie is a generous, understanding woman who helps him grow in self-reliance and self-confidence. While David's climactic confrontation with his self-involved parents is hastened by his best friend's contrived move out of state, this first-person novel has convincing situations and characters, including a gentle, disfigured boy and a large, rambunctious dog. Roberts' implication that mothers should stay at home with their children (as do those of David's pals Lee and C. J., which makes him envious) should appeal to children living under similar conditions. Fans of Roberts' popular mysteries will appreciate the suspense that permeates this realistic story about one boy's fate.

Marilyn Long Graham (review date April 1993)

SOURCE: Graham, Marilyn Long. School Library Journal 39, no. 4 (April 1993): 124.

This fine story [What are We Going to Do about David? ] features an introspective, keenly sensitive child as he opens a new chapter in his life. David, 11, is the only child of busy professional parents who don't seem to notice that he's growing up. Their demanding jobs and their strained marriage make home life tense and unhappy for their son. His friendly relationship with the housekeeper comes to an abrupt end when his mother fires the woman after an argument. Shortly afterward, both of David's parents have business trips at the same time and decide to send the boy to stay with his grandmother, whom he barely knows, for a month. He is lonely and homesick at first, but Ruthie's kindness and a newfound friend in the neighborhood brighten his stay with her. After his vacation is extended, David is able to confront his parents with his true feelings about returning home. Told in the first person with plenty of natural dialogue, the plot unfolds at a brisk pace, with the concerns of a preadolescent boy convincingly portrayed.

THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE STORY … HOW I TRAVELED TO YELLOWSTONE PARK WITH THE TERRIBLE RUPES, NO NAMES HAVE BEEN CHANGED TO PROTECT THE GUILTY (1994)

Frances Bradburn (review date 15 January 1995)

SOURCE: Bradburn, Frances. Booklist 91, no. 10 (15 January 1995): 929-30.

Twelve-year-old Lewis thinks he's the luckiest kid around [The Absolutely True Story: My Trip to Yellowstone Park with the Terrible Rupes, No Names Have Been Changed to Protect the Guilty ] when he's invited to go to Yellowstone with his next door neighbors the Rupes, who eat junk food, don't assign chores, and seem to do exactly what they want. He even gets his twin sister, Alison, invited so that she can take care of the younger Rupes. Yet the irresponsibility and even the junk food gradually lose their appeal as the days pass in the luxurious motor home. Mr. Rupe's ineptness in driving a vehicle this large is downright scary, Mrs. Rupe leaves all the child care to Alison, the entire family appears uninterested in any of the sights along the way, and the motor home seems to be attracting two menacing men who follow them cross-country. Roberts has written a humorous mystery, more humor than mystery. The Rupes are the quintessential ugly Americans—even in America—and in spite of the de rigueur kidnapping of all the children, the thieves are more bumbling oafs than terrorists. Yet humorous fiction for this age, especially for boys, is hard to find. Consider this an investment in circulating slapstick.

Susan W. Hunter (review date March 1995)

SOURCE: Hunter, Susan W. School Library Journal 41, no. 3 (March 1995): 206

Twelve-year-old twins Lewis and Alison are invited to join their new neighbors, the five-member Rupe family, on a summertime trip from Washington state to Yellowstone Park in a rented motor home [The Absolutely True Story ]. Though pleased to be going, Lewis realizes that he and Alison (especially Alison) will be responsible for Billy, 4, and Ariadne, 3, as brother Harry, 12, and the wealthy, laissez-fair parents seem oblivious to the needs of the two mischievous youngsters. Lewis often reflects on the orderly comfort of his own home with its wholesome meals and consistent parents, as traveling with the Rupes involves driving mishaps, frayed nerves, missing children, and a surfeit of junk food. Even the fascinating scenery is dimmed by the Rupes boorish behavior, but the real discomfiture surrounds Billy's puzzling discovery of stray $100 bills in the motor home and the sense that they are being tailed by two suspicious-looking men. Danger intensifies when the men seize the vehicle and drive off with the children on board. The kids use clever guerilla tactics to foil the predictably nasty kidnappers and save the day in this high-spirited tale of action and light suspense, reminiscent of Roberts's popular Baby-Sitting Is a Dangerous Job (1985).

CAUGHT! (1994)

Deborah Abbott (review date 1 April 1994)

SOURCE: Abbott, Deborah. Booklist 90, no. 15 (1 April 1994): 1451.

When their mother goes on a business trip, leaving Gram in charge [Caught! ], 13-year-old Vickie, convinced she can't tolerate Gram's meanness and constant reprimands about acting before thinking, leads the way as she and her younger sister hop a bus to California to stay with their dad. But he is gone from his apartment, and they are mystified and frightened when they find a photo of a woman and child, a pipe, and wet bloodstains on the carpet. The first night Vickie dreams she hears a key in the door and sees a figure watching her, only to discover the dream is a real-life nightmare. The girls, certain that something terrible has happened to their father, seek help from a young upstairs neighbor, and the three investigate. Once again Roberts spins an exciting web of intrigue. Although not her best effort—the characters of the parents and grandmother seem shallow, and the ending lacks force—the story is guaranteed to keep the author's fans and new readers alike turning the pages as fast as they can read.

Ann W. Moore (review date May 1994)

SOURCE: Moore, Ann W. School Library Journal 40, no. 5 (May 1994): 118.

Vickie, 13, doesn't get along with her grandmother—especially since her father left home [Caught! ]. When her mother goes away on business, leaving Gram in charge, Vickie's irritation overflows. Without permission, she and her nine-year-old sister Joanie travel from Washington to their father's California apartment. But he isn't there—only a cat (Dad doesn't like them), a pipe (he's a nonsmoker), an unfamiliar photo, and assorted bloodstains. Helped by new friend Jake Ohanian, several tenants, and a bulldog, Vickie and Joanie finally solve the mystery and track down their father. Caught! gets off to a promising start, but bogs down in the middle. There is too little the children can realistically do. Consequently, they rapidly reach their limits and are then dependent on adult players, accidents, and chance to pull them along. Once undercover agent Aaron Feldman shows up, readers are subjected to endless talk and explanations. Vickie's final bawling out by her father is a disappointment (and unnecessary). Other portions of the book are equally wordy and repetitious. Roberts's characters tend to be stereotypes: the rebellious teenager, the nagging grandmother, the eccentric senior citizen, the nasty criminal, the grubby-looking boy with a heart of gold. The title is catchy, but not particularly pertinent to the plot. There are far better juvenile mysteries available.

Connie Allerton (review date September 1994)

SOURCE: Allerton, Connie. Book Report 13, no. 2 (September 1994): 45.

In this teenage mystery [Caught! ], Vicki, age 13, and her younger sister Joanie struggle with family difficulties familiar to contemporary adolescents. Mom works, but Dad is an unemployed accountant who lives in California, searching for work. The girls' lives are further complicated by Gram, their maternal grandmother, who comes to live with them to "help out." Gram's strict supervision of chores and after-school hours rankles, but she really makes life tense by denouncing the girls' absent father at every opportunity. Vicki finally has enough of Gram's tirades and, with Joanie in tow, catches a bus to California to see their father. They are dismayed that he is not home when they arrive, nor does he come home later that night. There is even more to cause alarm: blood stains on Dad's carpet; a photo of an unknown woman and child; a bearded man calling himself by Dad's name; phone numbers for a hospital and a union; strangers lurking in the alley; shadowy, dreamlike visitors in the night. With the aid of Jake, a teenage boy who lives upstairs, the girls unravel the mystery of their father's disappearance and its relation to his job with a corrupt union. Before they return home, the girls finally are able to visit Dad, who has been in the hospital. He reprimands them for irresponsibly running away and traveling alone so far from home; no mushy "I'm so glad to see you—you saved the day!" scenes for this fellow. At the story's end, there is a glimmer of hope that Dad will move home to try to find work, since Gram has decided to live in Montana with her sister.

TWISTED SUMMER (1996)

Karen Simonetti (review date 15 March 1996)

SOURCE: Simonetti, Karen. Booklist 92, no. 14 (15 March 1996): 1252-54.

Last summer Cici and her family couldn't make it to their Michigan cabin. This promises to be better [Twisted Summer ]. Fourteen-year-old Cici fits into her new bikini beautifully; surely, 17-year-old Jake will notice. But last summer, Jake's older brother was convicted of murder, and this summer, Jake wants to talk about it. As Jake and Cici review the facts of the case, clues surface. In the middle of their investigation, Cici's grandmother dies. Although Cici feels guilty for suspecting the mourners, she prepares a list of suspects with motive and opportunity. When the list disappears, it's apparent that someone knows what the teens are doing. Cici's first-person narrative enhances the realistic characterizations, and although the ending is a bit formulaic, it's still a surprise. A charming mystery for readers who like Nancy Drew.

Connie Tyrrell Burns (review date April 1996)

SOURCE: Burns, Connie Tyrrell. School Library Journal 42, no. 4 (April 1996): 158.

The brisk pace of this suspenseful murder mystery [Twisted Summer ] lures readers right to the gripping ending. Fourteen-year-old Cici Linden's anticipated summer among family and old friends on Crystal Lake in Michigan takes an abrupt turn when she realizes that the brother of the boy she likes has been convicted of murdering a flirtatious girl from the summer community. Convinced of Brody's innocence, Cici searches for the real killer in the midst of the illness and death of her beloved grandmother and her growing conviction that her stepgrandfather is somehow involved in the crime. Before discovering the murderer's identity, Cici survives being shot at and uncovers double blackmail. Roberts writes insightfully about death and the different ways in which people grieve. This is a well-crafted, sophisticated story that conveys Cici's conflicting feelings as her hopes for a romantic summer turn sour.

Brenda Williams (review date January 1997)

SOURCE: Williams, Brenda. Book Report 15, no. 4 (January 1997): 38

This fast-paced, short, easy-to-read murder mystery [Twisted Summer ] begins as 14-year-old Cici, her mother and her mother's family gather at their Michigan summer home to find Crystal Lake secured by fence with a gated entrance. They learn that a local resident was strangled here last year and that a friend is in prison for her murder—a man whose younger brother Cici hopes will notice her this summer. Cici spends the summer proving Brody innocent, in the process discovering that her grandmother killed a man and that the judge, the now-dead grandmother's second husband, is being blackmailed. Not even being shot at deters the teenage sleuth. Anyone enjoying mysteries will like this one.

SECRETS AT HIDDEN VALLEY (1997)

Chris Sherman (review date 15 March 1997))

SOURCE: Sherman, Chris. Booklist 93, no. 14 (15 March 1997): 1243.

Eleven-year-old Steffi is dismayed when her mother, an actress who must spend the summer on location, sends her to northern Michigan to stay with a grandfather she has never met [Secrets at Hidden Valley ]. She is uncertain of the reception she will receive, as her grandfather never responded to her mother's letters. Sure enough, he is not expecting her when she arrives at the seedy RV park where he lives. Despite his gruff manner, however, Steffi settles in, helping with cooking and cleaning up the park. In the process, she befriends several eccentric campers with surprising secrets, becomes entangled in an FBI investigation, and discovers her own family's history. Once again Roberts demonstrates her ability to weave a satisfying mystery and a realistic problem novel into a smoothly paced story. This one also has sure-fire appeal.

Lisa Dennis (review date June 1997)

SOURCE: Dennis, Lisa. School Library Journal 43, no. 6 (June 1997): 126-27.

This novel [Secrets at Hidden Valley ] by a veteran author may disappoint readers looking for action-packed mystery and adventure but will appeal to those who enjoy books about kids sorting out family conflicts. Off-loaded by her mother, a recent widow and Hollywood hopeful, 11-year-old Steffi must learn to cope with a very different way of life and a curmudgeonly grandfather who seems unwilling to accept her. The fact that she does so with unfailing cheer and determination is not completely convincing, but will make her an appealing heroine for young readers. The bulk of the novel concerns her attempts to win over her grandfather, Vic; make physical improvements at his run-down trailer park; and figure out why various residents fear strangers. The climactic scene features a confrontation that offers Vic the opportunity to express his growing concern for Steffi by saving her from a would-be kidnapper. Although the story ends with the girl's future up in the air, she's clearly a survivor, whether at Hidden Valley or in Hollywood. Roberts's straightforward writing style moves the story along and makes even the unlikeliest incidents believable. Quirky secondary characters, while not always well developed, add charm and interest to the main plot. The author's fans will welcome this look at a contemporary child coping with everyday issues and unusual incidents.

Emergency Librarian (review date September-October 1997)

SOURCE: Emergency Librarian 25, no. 1 (September-October 1997): 50.

For a solid mystery with a few good surprises, direct readers to Secrets at Hidden Valley by Willo Davis Roberts. Steffi doesn't want to stay with her grandfather in a crummy RV park in Michigan. Her mother has a bit part in a B-Western somewhere in New Mexico and Steffi can't go with her. Leaving California to spend the summer with her grandfather is bad but arriving is almost worse. Her grandfather didn't know she was coming to stay with him and hardly speaks to her. Then he has an accident and Steffi ends up running the park for him. The residents of the campground are a puzzling bunch. There are secrets among them that Steffi doesn't fully uncover until her own life is threatened. Roberts' protagonist is a likable girl-next-door type with lots of common sense.

Alison M. Walters (review date November 1997)

SOURCE: Walters, Alison M. Book Report 16, no. 3 (November 1997): 42.

Sent to Michigan to live with her paternal grandfather for the summer after her stuntman father is killed and her mother takes a job on the road, 11-year-old Steffi finds there is no one to meet her when she gets off the bus [Secrets at Hidden Valley ]. So she walks to Hidden Valley, the RV park where the grandfather she has never met makes his home. The RV park is well-named; it has a palpable air of secrecy. One resident is a special agent trying to get proof that two of the other residents are bank robbers. Another elderly resident is hiding from her adult daughter because she fears being put into an adult foster-care facility. Young readers who like realistic fiction will enjoy this well-paced mystery if they can get past the unappealing hardback cover (a dark green-and-white photograph of a girl with luggage) and the type face and peculiar word spacing, which make the text look stretched or elongated and is hard on the eyes.

THE KIDNAPPERS (1998)

Helen Rosenberg (review date 1 February 1998)

SOURCE: Rosenberg, Helen. Booklist 94, no. 11 (1 February 1998): 919.

Roberts has created another suspenseful mystery for young readers [The Kidnappers ], although devoted fans may recognize some similarities with A View from the Cherry Tree (1975): the witness to a crime, who can't get anyone to believe his story, soon finds himself being hunted down by the villain. Here, Joel Bishop, a student at an elite private school, witnesses the kidnapping of his classmate, Willie. Unfortunately, Joel has been known to tell a few tall tales and has recently been fighting with Willie, making his story very hard to believe. In fact, only his sister and his best friend believe him; everyone else is too distracted by an upcoming party to pay attention, even when it looks like Joel might be the next victim. When Joel is actually kidnapped, he discovers, to his horror, that the family chauffeur is in on the crime. It takes some quick thinking and ingenuity on Joel's part to outwit the kidnappers and escape unharmed. The combination of a witty narrative and a suspenseful plot makes this a good page-turner that will leave even the most reluctant readers glued to their seats.

Connie Tyrrell Burns (review date March 1998)

SOURCE: Burns, Connie Tyrrell. School Library Journal 44, no. 3 (March 1998): 218.

In a new twist on the old "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" story [The Kidnappers ], 11-year-old Joey Bishop's well-deserved reputation as a liar and teller of tall tales gets in the way of helping to solve a crime. When Joey accidentally hits the class bully in the nose, he knows it's only a matter of time before Willie seeks revenge. Hiding outside of his expensive New York City private school after most of the chauffeurs have come and gone, Joey witnesses the abduction of his worst enemy. By the time he convinces others of the veracity of his story, he realizes that having seen the kidnapping is nearly as dangerous as being kidnapped. The fast-paced mystery unfolds with suspense and excitement, as Joey is nearly run down and then abducted himself. A double-crossing by an old friend and the making of a new one conclude this first-person narrative. Joey's frustrations with his schoolmates and family add humor to the mystery. While the subplots tend to dilute the tension, this remains a quick, satisfying read.

Sue Rusk (review date January 1999)

SOURCE: Rusk, Sue. Book Report 17, no. 4 (January 1999): 64.

Eleven-year-old Joey Bishop attends an expensive private school in New York City [The Kidnappers ]. At recess, he accidentally elbows a bully named Willie, causing Willie's nose to bleed. Willie holds a grudge and looks for a fight to even the score. While the boys wait for their chauffeurs to pick them up after school, Joey tries to avoid Willie by hiding in the lobby of a nearby apartment building. From the lobby window, Joey sees Willie being kidnapped, but no one believes him when he tries to report it. Finally, Joey's grouchy father gets involved by calling Willie's family. After seeing a computer-generated drawing of the kidnapper, Joey and his friend, Pink, see the man. A series of events finally leads to Joey discovering where Willie is being held. Joey, himself, is abducted in an elevator. This is where the story loses some of its believability. Now Willie and Joey both are being held by Joey's father's chauffeur and his buddies. The boys band together to try to escape their dangerous situation. All ends neatly, with the boys being friends and with everyone safe and sound. The pat ending will lose all but the most avid mystery fans. Some readers may not relate to the rich lifestyle and private school setting. Often, in the text, Joey's name is changed to Joel.

PAWNS (1998)

Janet Hilbun (review date 1 November 1998)

SOURCE: Hilbun, Janet. School Library Journal 44, no. 11 (November 1998): 128.

Roberts once again proves her craftsmanship in this tale of mystery and intrigue [Pawns ]. Teddi, 14, has lived with her neighbor Mamie for several months since her mother's death and her father's suicide. The two have developed a close relationship, especially since the recent death of Mamie's son Ricky in a plane crash. Then a very pregnant Dora arrives, purporting to be Ricky's wife. This news shocks Mamie as she didn't know her son had married. Still, she welcomes Dora and the baby with hope and open arms. Teddi, though, finds herself doubting the young woman's story and decides she must try to find out what's going on, knowing that what she uncovers may hurt Mamie. With the help of Jason, a new friend and neighbor, she investigates. Roberts blends the elements of mystery and suspense, a budding romance, and coming to terms with traumatic events of the past into a taut, well-constructed plot. Teddi's desire to protect her caregiver makes her a worthy heroine. Mamie's strength and humaneness as she faces Dora's arrival, the birth of her "grandson," and the discovery and aftermath of the betrayal provide a fully realized adult character often missing in young adult fiction. With its strong story line and well-defined characters, this novel is sure to be popular.

Stephanie Zvirin (review date 15 November 1998)

SOURCE: Zvirin, Stephanie. Booklist 95, no. 6 (1 November 1998): 581.

When pregnant Dori shows up claiming to be the wife of Mamie's recently deceased son, Ricky, 14-year-old Teddi is both jealous and scared [Pawns ]. On the one hand, she worries that generous Mamie, who took Teddi in following the deaths of Teddi's parents, will no longer be able to care for her; on the other, she sees Mamie's spirits lift at the thought of a grandchild. No matter how Teddi looks at the situation, however, something about Dori just isn't right. Where, Teddi wonders, does Dori go when she sneaks out at night? Why did she insist on giving birth with only Teddi to help? And why did she steal the money from the petty cash jar? There's no mistaking the villain here (Teddi and Mamie are just too nice), and don't look too hard for credibility. Still, veteran suspense writer Roberts keeps readers guessing about the whys and hows of the goings-on, and, by adding a hint of romance for Teddi and allowing Teddi to work through her feelings about her father's suicide, Roberts gives readers plenty grist to contemplate. A made-for-TV-movie on the page.

Publishers Weekly (review date 16 November 1998)

SOURCE: Publishers Weekly 245, no. 46 (16 November 1998): 75.

Left all alone after her mother's death from cancer and her father's subsequent suicide [Pawns ], 14-year-old Teddi is happy to have found a home with her grandmotherly next-door neighbor, Mamie, who is herself recovering from her son Ricky's recent death in a plane crash. So Teddi is understandably shaken when young and very pregnant Dora shows up on Mamie's doorstep, claiming to be Ricky's wife, and proceeds to move in. Teddi is immediately wary—and then feels guilty for it. But with the help of her new friend Jason, 16, who has moved into Teddi's old house, she sees that her suspicions of Dora are well-founded. How can she expose Dora as an impostor without making herself look bad or, worse yet, crushing Mamie? With a neat fillip, Roberts (Twisted Summer ) shakes the dust off a well-worn formula and turns the reader's assumptions inside out. The sensitive exploration of Teddi's feelings of grief and abandonment, moreover, considerably deepens the story's impact.

HOSTAGE (2000)

Janet Hilbun (review date February 2000)

SOURCE: Hilbun, Janet. School Library Journal 46, no. 2 (February 2000): 125-26.

Kaci's family's new house [Hostage ] has everything—bathrooms and bedrooms for everyone, room for her brother's grand piano—and a sense of security lacking in her old community. Shortly after the move, Kaci goes home in the middle of the school day to get her allergy medication and stumbles upon a burglary in progress. The robbers kidnap her, and when a nosy neighbor suspects that something is wrong and tries to help, they take her as well. At first, Kaci discounts Mrs. Banducci's ability to help them escape, but quickly discovers that the elderly woman not only has some good suggestions, but also helps the girl keep up her courage. By the time they are rescued, the two have become friends and Kaci has discovered the value of faith and resourcefulness. Roberts blends an exciting, well-crafted plot with strong characters. As in Pawns (1998), her emphasis on friendship, trust, and respect between older adults and teenagers provides a welcome change from much young adult literature. Without being preachy, she also introduces the idea of a sustaining faith in God. Fast paced and entertaining.

Frances Bradburn (review date 1 February 2000)

SOURCE: Bradburn, Frances. Booklist 96, no. 11 (1 February 2000): 1023.

Kaci and her family have moved from their house in an older, deteriorating neighborhood, in part because her mom no longer feels safe there [Hostage ]. She believes that their spacious new home in Lofty Cedars Estates offer a safer environment for middle-school Kaci and her siblings. Yet even Lofty Cedars is not immune to a ring of thieves, as Kaci learns when she returns one autumn afternoon to get her allergy medicine. When she surprises the thieves in her new house, they immediately take her and a snoopy elderly neighbor hostage, setting the stage for nerve-wracking adventure. Although not deep or complex, this is a pleasantly scary, quick read that plays on early adolescent fantasies and fears of just such a scenario.

BUDDY IS A STUPID NAME FOR A GIRL (2001)

Amy Easter (review date winter 2001)

SOURCE: Easter, Amy. Childhood Education 78, no. 2 (winter 2001): 112.

Buddy is thrown into a life she doesn't want after the disappearance of her father, who has gone off to take a new job [Buddy Is a Stupid Name for a Girl ]. She is sent to live with relatives she hardly knows. Aunt Addie hates Buddy's dead mother, Aunt Cassie's husband is an alcoholic, and Grandpa has dementia. Plus, she must adjust to a new school where everyone knows her business. Can Buddy uncover why Aunt Addie hated her mother? Can she find out what happened to Grandpa's money? And what has happened to her father? This is a touching and captivating read.

Elaine A. Bearden (review date February 2001)

Bearden, Elaine A. Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books 54, no. 6 (February 2001): 234-35.

Amy Kate (Buddy) finds herself in the care of her brother Bart when her father tries to make a go of it as a truck driver [Buddy Is a Stupid Name for a Girl ]. When he doesn't return as promised, the kids are evicted, and Bart sends Buddy to stay with relatives while he searches for their father. As Buddy attempts to acclimate to life in her late mother's childhood home, her uncanny resemblance to her mother, EllaBelle, stirs old family wounds. While Aunt Cassie would like to forget the past, Aunt Addie has more difficulty letting go, providing opportunity for Buddy to learn of their grievance against her mother: Addie first loved Buddy's father before EllaBelle swept him away, and EllaBelle was the person last seen with the flowered tote containing Buddy's greatgrandfather's fortune. Just as brother Bart will not believe their father hijacked a semi-truck filled with valuable inventory (as the trucking company believes), Buddy is unable to believe her mother would steal, and each sibling seeks the truth. Roberts' story rides on Buddy's predictable idealism and pluck and on a sequence of plot contrivances (the siblings' eviction, for instance, means they weren't home for their father's only phone call). However, Buddy's successful sleuthing (her mother's name is cleared and the money returned to its rightful owners) will appeal to youngsters, who will identify with the kid solving a mystery and working towards a cause in which no one else believes.

Angela J. Reynolds (review date May 2001)

SOURCE: Reynolds, Angela J. School Library Journal 47, no. 5 (May 2001): 159.

Buddy's father has disappeared [Buddy Is a Stupid Name for a Girl ], and she and her teenaged brother are forced to move out of their home because they can't pay the rent. While Bart goes off to look for Dad, Buddy is sent to live in Montana with her maternal aunts, who seem glad enough to have her, but have something against her deceased mother. Buddy delves into the mystery and learns that her relatives believe that EllaBelle stole a large amount of cash from the family, and the child sets out to prove them wrong. She is helped by her cousin Max and her senile great-grandfather, who occasionally remembers details. The action happens at a good pace, and the whole book takes place within a few weeks time. However, the characters are almost stock. The codependent aunt and the bossy one, the forgetful old man, alcoholic uncle, caring but absent father, and male cousin who is at first distant but who comes around color Buddy's world. While the story is fairly interesting, there are details that just don't jive. The day of the alleged theft doesn't match up with details of when EllaBelle died, and some of the plot elements are forced, including the action associated with the book's title. A well-meaning story, with a few nuts and bolts missing.

UNDERCURRENTS (2002)

Frances Bradburn (review date 15 February 2002)

SOURCE: Bradburn, Frances. Booklist 98, no. 12 (15 February 2002): 1010.

Nikki Simons [Undercurrents ] cannot imagine coping with more than she already faces: her mother has died, and her beloved older sister is headed for a job and college, leaving Nikki to care for her brother, father, and the house. Then her father announces that he is marrying Crystal, a woman not much older than the girls themselves. When the family spends the summer at Crystal's childhood home, Nikki becomes aware that something horrible happened when Crystal lived there, something that seems to be replaying itself in Crystal's dreams. The mystery unfolds too slowly, and Bruce, the threatening gardener, is introduced too late and too nonchalantly to warrant the role he's given in the climax. Yet undercurrents of more universal issues—a child's reaction to a parent's remarriage, especially after the other parent's death, and changing family dynamics after an older sibling leaves home—add depth to the prolific author's latest offering.

Tina Zubak (review date February 2002)

SOURCE: Zubak, Tina. School Library Journal 48, no. 2 (February 2002): 136.

Only eight months after 14-year-old Nikki Simons's mother dies [Undercurrents ], her father marries Crystal, a young artist at the publishing company where he is an editor. Shortly thereafter, Crystal inherits a house on the California coast and Nikki's dad insists they go there for a vacation despite his new wife's obvious resistance. Nikki, her 10-year-old brother, and his friend Jeremy head out with the new couple to California. After Nikki's father is conveniently called away on business, the teen is left to cope with her stepmother's nightmares, unexplained terror, and refusal to be seen by any of the locals. Finally, Crystal reveals the reason for her traumatized state: she had witnessed the murder of her parents by a relative in a nearby house when she was a child. A fog at a pivotal point provides excitement, as does the moment that Nikki realizes that the murderer has been watching her. Crystal is described over and over again as pale and timid, and is so withdrawn that it's impossible to know what Mr. Simons could have seen in her. As in Roberts's To Grandmother's House We Go (1994), the hasty conclusion hinges on a fire and a mentally unstable relative, but this book leaves readers hanging as to what happens to him.… For Roberts at her best, suggest Megan's Island (1988) or The Absolutely True Story … How I Visited Yellowstone Park with the Terrible Rupes (1994).

Publishers Weekly (review date 4 March 2002)

SOURCE: Publishers Weekly 249, no. 9 (4 March 2002): 80.

Roberts's (Pawns ) mystery novel [Undercurrents ] generates suspense, but, ultimately, too many unanswered questions will leave readers unsatisfied. Eight months after 14-year-old narrator Nikki's mother dies, her father marries Crystal, a younger woman. On a picnic to meet the kids, shy Crystal admits to a tragic childhood (her parents both died when she was seven), and when she later inherits a beach house from her aunt, she unsuccessfully resists Nikki's father's decision to vacation there. Nikki's father must return home, and leaves Crystal in the beach house with the kids. The woman begins to act strangely. Crystal has nightmares, forbids Nikki to go to the neighboring mansion of a handicapped professor, who has hired the girl to type his manuscript, and hides her hair in public. Nikki must decide if Crystal is merely "sensitive" or if something larger looms. Many of the chapters have cliffhanger endings ("And that was when everything seemed to start falling apart"), and the big old houses overlooking the ocean provide a solid setting for the plot to unfold. But while the mystery surrounding Crystal's behavior is finally solved, others are not, both small (What's important about Crystal drinking so much carrot juice?) and large (Why doesn't anyone in town tell Nikki why the mansion is supposedly haunted?). This, compounded by cookie-cutter characters, such as the matronly housekeeper and creepy gardener (even Nikki herself is a bit too formal, and her relationship with the professor's son is weak), makes for less-than scintillating sleuthing.

Deborah Stevenson (review date April 2002)

Stevenson, Deborah. Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books 55, no. 8 (April 2002): 291.

[In Undercurrents ] Nikki is stunned when, eight months after the death of her mother from cancer, her father marries Crystal, a young illustrator. Her pains of bereavement and sudden transition are complicated by puzzlement: Crystal is mysteriously reticent about her past, and Nikki realizes with astonishment that her young stepmother is downright afraid when an aunt leaves Crystal a house on the California coast and Nikki's father decides that the family will spend a vacation there. Crystal's behavior becomes even stranger and more secretive in California; after Nikki's father is forced to leave on a business emergency, an infuriated Nikki refuses to obey Crystal's arbitrary stricture that she quit her job (typing for a neighbor), until revelations about Crystal's past suggest that the darkness that looms over Crystal may now threaten Nikki as well. Roberts is a dab hand at foreshadowing, effectively exploiting Nikki's natural resentment of an abruptly appearing stepmother, and Nikki's essential fair-mindedness (she realizes that Crystal often does get a raw deal in the family) makes her a sympathetic narrator. The payoffs are not really worth the foreshadowing, however, thereby becoming letdowns rather than fulfillment; this is particularly true of the climactic drama, which really has very little connection to the book's buildup and merely offers an overly convenient solution to the problems of Crystal's past. Between an isolated house on the coast, an interloper in the family, and hints of terrible secrets from the past, however, there's still enough pleasingly foreboding atmosphere to entertain mystery fans.

REBEL (2003)

Kirkus Reviews (review date 15 June 2003)

SOURCE: Kirkus Reviews 71, no. 12 (15 June 2003): 864.

Amanda Jane has been called Rebel since she was two [Rebel ]. At 14 (and nearly six feet tall), she's delighted to spend part of her summer in Seattle helping her unconventional Gram ready an old Victorian house for college-age boarders. Gram's friend and partner in homesteading is Vi, who has brought along her grandson. He's not only Rebel's age, he's 6 foot 6 and named Moses. Moses's video camera captures a robbery-in-progress at the local deli, and that sparks a series of events involving counterfeit money and Moses's Irish wolfhound. Showing the rooms between bouts of housepainting enables Rebel and Moses to trace who the perps might be, and Rebel's independent streak keeps the more sensible Moses from calling the police until it is almost too late. Rebel is clearly checking Moses out in a big way, and their byplay is rather more interesting than the contrived plotline. The possibility of a European tour with both grandmothers and the teen duo leave readers open for sequels.

Kay Weisman (review date July 2003)

SOURCE: Weisman, Kay. Booklist 99, no. 21 (July 2003): 1892.

Despite her name and early contrarian beginnings [Rebel ], 14-year-old Rebel, who is really a pretty agreeable girl, opts to spend some time with her grandmother, helping to rehab an old boarding house in Seattle. There she meets 15-year-old Moses, an aspiring filmmaker and the grandson of Gram's business partner, Viola. While walking a dog, the young people inadvertently videotape a robbery/counterfeiting incident. They realize they should turn the matter over to the police, but the chance to solve the crime on their own is very appealing, even in the face of the danger that it causes them and their families. Roberts usually excels at mystery plotting and suspense, and this novel is no exception, with criminal suspects lining up to rent rooms from Gram at an alarming rate. Although Rebel seems to spend an inordinate amount of time privately considering Moses' marriage potential (his major attraction—he is taller than her five feet, 10 inches), this is an entertaining mystery that will attract readers of all sizes.

Connie Tyrrell Burns (review date August 2003)

SOURCE: Burns, Connie Tyrrell. School Library Journal 49, no. 8 (August 2003): 165.

Amanda Jane Keeling, 14, has answered only to the name "Rebel" since she was two [Rebel ]. When her grandmother, sick of the confinements of assisted living, joins an elderly friend, Viola, in buying an old rooming house near the University of Washington, Rebel and Vi's grandson, Moses, are asked to help paint, clean, and get the house ready for roomers. Rebel, at 5' 10", is immediately taken with the 6'6" Moses. Much to his father's dismay, Moses wants to write, direct, and produce films rather than enter law. He carries an old video camera around, inadvertently filming a young man as he is grabbing back a $20 bill after purchasing a candy bar at the local mom-and-pop store. This brief encounter sets in motion a nighttime break-in at the old house, a nearly missing Irish wolfhound, and the cracking of a band of young counterfeiters, and, in the end, the teens realize that they should have called on the police sooner rather than sleuthing on their own. Rebel is an engaging, independent character; the photo on the jacket will appeal to middle school kids. Unfortunately, the mystery unfolds too slowly to hook them, and this uneven pacing leaves all of the suspense until the very end.

Karen Coats (review date September 2003)

Coats, Karen. Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books 57, no. 1 (September 2003): 30.

Because her first and favorite word was "no!" Amanda Jane Keeling has been called nothing but Rebel since she was two years old. When the rest of her family heads to Europe for a music competition [in Rebel ], she decides to stay home and help her grandmother, from whom she inherited her rebellious tendencies, fix up an old house for boarders. Her grandmother's friend and business partner, Vi, has a grandson helping her, and soon Moses and Rebel find that they are kindred spirits-exceptionally tall young people with a passion for mystery, which they conveniently find. While walking their dogs, they witness a petty theft that turns out to be the tip of a criminal iceberg. Moses and Rebel follow all of the classical leads-muddy footprints, discarded jackets, wallets filled with counterfeit bills-and finally devise a scheme to lure the culprits to their home, even though they know that such a move is risky. Fortunately, Moses' uncle is a cop, and his late-night return from a fishing trip tidily corresponds with the counterfeit gang's break-in, resulting in a messy but ultimately harmless roundup of all the bad guys. More Scooby Doo than Nancy Drew, this mildly interesting mystery turns on too-convenient coincidences and fortuitous circumstances. Dialogue is generally stilted and authorial forecasting painfully intrusive, with chapters ending with lines such as "if they'd had a crystal ball their response would have been quite different." There is also a rather strange and persistent subtext of fourteen-year-old Rebel's sizing Moses up as potential marriage material. Still, there is sufficient action and predictable enough clue detection to catch the undemanding mystery fan, with the added bonus of two clever dogs whose detective work deserves some Scooby snacks.

FURTHER READING

Biography

Roberts, Willo Davis, and C. Herb Williams. "This Willo Isn't Weeping." Writer's Digest 61 (August 1981): 18-19.

Roberts discusses how her writing rescued her family from poverty.

Criticism

Review of Don't Hurt Laurie! by Willo Davis Roberts. Kirkus Reviews 45, no. 8 (15 April 1977): 427.

The critic faults Don't Hurt Laurie! as a story "without much force or dimension."

Viorst, Judith. Review of Don't Hurt Laurie! by Willo Davis Roberts. New York Times Book Review (17 April 1977): 51.

Viorst criticizes Don't Hurt Laurie! as an "inevitably lurid, sadistic and violent" children's book.

Additional coverage of Roberts's life and career is contained in the following sources published by the Gale Group: Authors and Artists for Young Adults, Vol. 13; Contemporary Authors, Vols. 49-52; Contemporary Authors New Revision Series, Vols. 3, 19, 47, 112; Junior DISCovering Authors ; Literature Resource Center ; Major Authors and Illustrators for Children and Young Adults, Eds. 1, 2; Major Authors and Illustrators for Children and Young Adults Supplement, Ed. 1; St. James Guide to Young Adult Writers ; Something about the Author, Vols. 21, 70, 133; Something about the Author Autobiography Series, Vol. 8; and Twentieth-Century Romance and Historical Writers.