Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff
Simon and Schuster, 2013.
(Age: 14+) Recommended. Ghosts. Mystery. Hannah is haunted by the
ghost of her best friend, Lillian, who starved herself to death.
Lillian's ghost is insisting that Hannah investigate the murders of
young girls, who are left lying in the park, surrounded by toys and
glittering objects and with a paper valentine left on the scene of
the crime. But Hannah is desperately trying to come to grips with
her friend's death and can't help thinking about Finny Boone, the
big bad boy who is unexpectedly kind.
Yovanoff pulls off a clever mix of looking at the issues of eating
disorders and self perception, combined with a ghost story and a
rivetting murder mystery. Binding it all together is the narrative
of Hannah, who gives the reader an in-depth look at the machinations
of girls who want to belong to a group that is leading the way for
everyone and the reasons that Lillian stopped eating. At the same
time the tension builds up as the city becomes hotter, birds fall
out of the sky and people begin to live in fear of another murder.
Hannah begins to concentrate on solving the murders as a way of
redemption, urged on by the chilling ghost Lillian. She couldn't
stop her best friend from starving herself to death but perhaps she
could stop more young girls from being murdered. Yovanoff builds up
the suspense here as clues seem to point to Finny, the boy who could
be a budding delinquent, but who Hannah is drawn to. Her suspicions
of him could have devastating results. Then there are other people
who could be suspects too and Hannah has to put together a myriad of
clues before the dramatic finale.
I really liked the way that Yovanoff explored the themes of self
esteem, of how people mask their feelings, of love and death, all
with a good mystery and ghost story thrown in. I will be sure
to pick up books by Brenna Yovanoff in the future.
Pat Pledger