Thicker Than Water

by Natasha Deen

Overview

Zack Bernard has a thing for crime shows, especially the forensic-investigation kind. So when his friend Ella goes missing, Zack can't help piecing together what he thinks is concrete evidence that could lead to her whereabouts. The problem is, it's all pointing toward his dad. He knows his dad is lying about not having seen Ella because Zack saw them together at the mall the day she disappeared. What he doesn't know is why. With the help of his friend Ayo, Zack tries to solve the mystery himself to avoid having to make the terrible choice between losing someone close to him and betraying his family.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781459821989
Publisher:	Orca Book Publishers
Publication date:	01/29/2019
Series:	Orca Soundings Series
Pages:	144
Sales rank:	1,111,085
Product dimensions:	4.25(w) x 7.00(h) x 0.31(d)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Natasha Deen loves stories: exciting ones, scary ones and, especially, funny ones! As a kid of two countries (Guyana and Canada), she feels extra lucky because she gets a double dose of stories. Natasha is the author of many books including the Lark Ba Detective series in the Orca Echoes line, Depth of Field in the Orca Soundings line and In the Key of Nira Ghani which won the Amy Mathers Book Award and was nominated for the Red Maple, MYRCA and R. Ross Arnett Awards. Natasha lives in Edmonton.

Editorial Reviews

"Action in Thicker Than Water will keep readers engaged. The moral pitfalls will present good discussion opportunities."

CM: Canadian Review of Materials

Deen brings insight and complexity…I’ll be looking for more from this talented author.

Resource Links

02/01/2019

Gr 8 Up—This continuing series follows teenagers dealing with transitions. Logan is a photographer reeling from the recent death of her mother in The Unbroken Hearts Club. When she and her best friend Cole begin attending bereavement meetings hosted by her father, she is forced to confront her loss, as well as her possible feelings for Cole. Aspiring criminologist Zack's best friend goes missing in Thicker Than Water—and all signs point to Zack's father being involved, all while his parents' marriage falls apart. In The Bodyguard, Ryan, known as "Replay," is a star football player who dreams of becoming a filmmaker. To raise the money to apply to film school, he begins working as a bodyguard to Markus, an Estonian exchange student with dark secrets tied to online gambling. Readers will be enticed by the edgy themes and compelling stories of adolescents following their dreams. VERDICT Written at a third and fourth grade reading level, these novels are distinguished by multidimensional characters and briskly paced plots.

School Library Journal

2018-11-12

When his friend goes missing, Zack Bernard realizes her disappearance is not the only mystery.

The story focuses on Zack, a West Indian-Canadian teen living in Toronto who's a fan of true-crime shows and plans to become a detective. When his friend Ella Larson disappears, Zack can't let the police be the only ones investigating—especially because he knows something the police don't: Zack saw Ella with his guidance-counselor father at the mall and, later, getting into his car. Afraid to jeopardize his father's job, Zack withholds this information. Zack's dad refuses to talk to him about what he saw, his friend Ayo Mohammed thinks he needs to respect the confidentiality of his father's records, and they both think Zack should let the police handle everything. But his gut instinct says something terrible happened to Ella, and Zack's going to do everything he can to find out what it is even if he finds out something he didn't want to know. A challenge with hi-lo books is displayed with this title: The plot is too complex for the format, forcing an overly tidy and sanitized conclusion to the central mystery. However, readers will definitely keep turning the pages; Zack's and Ayo's immigrant families provide some subtle characterization for each of them.

For reluctant readers with a taste for crime, this title should scratch the itch. (Mystery/thriller. 12-18)

Kirkus Reviews