12/12/2016
The summer after her senior year of high school in New York City, Finley returns to her Maine hometown certain that the drowning death of her best friend, Betty, was murder. As Fin searches for the truth, she must untangle Betty’s lies; confront the young man, Calder, who confessed to but wasn’t convicted of the killing; and face her own demons and deceptions. Bisexual Finley is a strong and troubled heroine, exploring her own identity through a new relationship with a girl named Serena, their shared link to Betty, and an intense and disastrous pull to longtime friend and lover, Owen, who has started dealing drugs to keep his family afloat. Against this dramatic backdrop, Fin must reconcile how far she’s willing to go to protect the people she loves with the small-town politics that allow Calder and his father, the mayor, to do the same. The result is a powerful look at moral gray areas and the fluidity of forgiveness. Moracho’s (Althea & Oliver) characters are realistically and heartbreakingly flawed, and her fast-paced, windy narrative presents new wrinkles at every turn. Ages 14–up. Agent: Brianne Johnson, Writers House. (Feb.)
02/01/2017
Gr 9 Up—When her parents split right before she started high school, Fin moved with her mom from the coastal Maine town of Williston to New York City. Now that she's graduated, she'll spend the summer, as she does every year, back in small-town Maine with her dad. This summer promises to be nothing like the others, however. Betty, Fin's best friend since childhood, disappeared the previous fall, and Betty's ex-boyfriend, Calder, confessed to drowning her but was let loose on a technicality. Soon after arriving in Maine, Fin discovers that everyone acts as if Betty never existed. Everyone, that is, except Serena, a teen who is trying to assuage her pain with pills and alcohol. With Serena, Fin finds both a sexual relationship and a partner to avenge Betty's erasure. Together with Owen, an older local guy, they try to uncover what happened—and make Calder pay for it. While Moracho's narrative offers elements of a murder mystery and a psychological thriller, it is not an edge-of-the-seat read. The novel's real strength lies less in a suspenseful plot than in its subtle look into the dark places that minds, particularly those of teenagers on the brink of adulthood, can go and the different factors that can drive them there. VERDICT While this title will appeal to mystery fans, its best audience will be older teens seeking a well-written tale of a summer of downward spirals and small-town characters. Purchase where Sara Zarr, A.S. King, and Barry Lyga are popular.—Jill Heritage Maza, Montclair Kimberley Academy, NJ
2016-10-19
A young woman returns for the summer from her mother's in New York City to her dad's house in a small Maine town, intent on uncovering what actually happened to her best friend, who is only officially recognized by the police as missing even though her ex-boyfriend confessed to—but then recanted—having killed her. Finley is set to begin at NYU in the fall, but the loss of her troubled friend Betty drives her back to insular Williston to spend one final summer there in the late 1990s. An incredibly tangled web immediately presents itself, and she meets Serena, whom Betty met when her parents sent her to a religious summer camp and to whom Finley develops an intense attraction. Together, they do all they can to force the truth to come to light. Lushly evocative writing sets an atmospherically dark and foreboding tone from the start, and secrets are harbored by nearly every character, all of whom appear to be white. Finley is a distant narrator, tough and smart, and though she spends a fair amount of time downing pills, drinking, and having sex with both the town drug dealer, Owen, and Serena, her grief and anger over Betty are believable motivating forces that keep her asking questions and seeking revenge. A discomfiting, gripping mystery with plenty of sharp edges. (Fiction. 14 & up)
Sharp as a fistful of broken glass, dark and twisted as the woods at night, A Good Idea is rural noir at its creepy, literary best." —Laura Ruby, National Book Award Finalist and Printz-winning author of Bone Gap
“A Good Idea is a dark, unsettling thriller—I couldn't put it down until its haunting end. All the feel of classic noir, twisted up for a new generation.” —Amanda Panitch, author of Damage Done and Never Missing, Never Found
“I read this book breathlessly. Moracho has crafted an irresistible page turner.” —Kate Scelsa, author of Fans of the Impossible Life
“A Good Idea is a harrowing and beautifully crafted thriller about how far we're willing to go for the people we love—whether or not they deserve it. Cristina Moracho has talent to burn.” —Sarah McCarry, author of About a Girl
"A chilling mystery set in the '90s that errs on the side of noir, this story will leave you captivated and intrigued." —Buzzfeed
"Lushly evocative writing sets an atmospherically dark and foreboding tone from the start, and secrets are harbored by nearly every character . . . A discomfiting, gripping mystery with plenty of sharp edges." —Kirkus Reviews
"A powerful look at moral gray areas and the fluidity of forgiveness. Moracho’s characters are realistically and heartbreakingly flawed, and her fast-paced, windy narrative presents new wrinkles at every turn." —Publishers Weekly
"Moracho’s setting, a sleepy coastal town swathed in superstition and sea, shines. Edgy, atmospheric, and sometimes steamy, this is a thoughtful portrait of grief and an engaging examination of the risks we take for the ones we love." —Booklist
"The writing is richly noir, and the characters are engaging. Teens who like mysteries, twisted and dark, and those who like secrets all around will enjoy this thriller." —VOYA
"[A] subtle look into the dark places that minds, particularly those of teenagers on the brink of adulthood, can go and the different factors that can drive them there . . . Well-written." —School Library Journal
Cristina Moracho’s writing is
“Standout.” —Time Magazine
“Gut-wrenching.” —People
“Mesmerizing.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review
“Unforgettable.” —Sarah McCarry, author of About a Girl
“Painfully real.”—School Library Journal, starred review
“Penetratingly smart.” —Jim Shepard, author of Project X and You Think That’s Bad
subtle look into the dark places that minds, particularly those of teenagers on the brink of adulthood, can go and the different factors that can drive them there. VERDICT While this title will appeal to mystery fans, its best audience will be older teens seeking a well-written
Alex McKenna’s gravelly timbre captures the attitudes of rough, rebellious Finley Blake. Finley, who lives in New York City, travels back to the small Maine town where she grew up, determined find out the truth behind the murder of her best friend, Betty. Driven by her quest, she turns herself into a noirish detective as she interrogates former classmates, trespasses, manipulates friends and family, lies, vandalizes, and steals. She also finds a sleuthing partner in—and then falls in love with—the troubled Serena. McKenna gives Serena even more hoarseness than Finley’s. By the end, McKenna’s voice seems almost grating as Finley’s dogged efforts increase her despair, yet she remains a sympathetic character. S.W. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine
