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BUZZ KILL
by Beth Fantaskey
Houghton Mifflin, May 2014
368 pages
$17.99
ISBN: 0547393105


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

High school senior Millie Ostermeyer has long mused that if Coach "Hollerin' Hank" Killdare ever met an unnatural end that there would be no shortage of suspects. His penchant for loud and scary meltdowns has made him plenty of enemies of benched and humiliated football players and their parents. Rumors are swirling around the school about how his infamously intense practices left one player in a vegetative state. Millie's father, Jack, the town mayor, moonlights as an assistant coach; his rancor towards the hot-headed coach is the worst kept secret in town.

In addition to being the mayor's daughter, Millie is no ordinary high school senior. She's the founding (and only) member of Honeywell High School's philosophy club, she works as a ticket-seller at the town's sparsely attended independent movie theater, is a reporter for the school newspaper, and her most meaningful connection is with the town librarian, who has kept her stocked with Nancy Drews and philosophy books for years. Millie also has a difficult relationship with Viv, the editor and her boss at the school newspaper, whose father Millie's dad defeated in the last election and who has assigned Millie to write a story designed to embarrass her father.

When Coach Killdare does not show for class for several days, no one seems particularly alarmed and concerned. But when Millie and the mysterious newcomer to Honeywell High - the gorgeous Chase Albright - discover the coach with his skull bashed in near the football stadium, everything changes for Millie. With an eye towards sensationalism, Viv not too subtly suggests that Jack Ostermeyer was a little too eager to become head coach himself. As Millie starts to re-read the library's collection of Nancy Drew books looking for pointers on how to solve a mystery, her family and personal life is shaken when her father cannot seem to provide an alibi to the police when they question him thanks to the suspicion aroused by Viv's headlines. She has to investigate on her own.

Millie is no ordinary teenager and BUZZ KILL is no ordinary fluff YA mystery. Sure, it is light and fun, but Fantaskey elevates the material by giving the reader three-dimensional characters with real emotions and dilemmas not commonly found in what appears to be an otherwise light comic-mystery. While the beats of the story and the general molding of the characters will be familiar to most readers, its complexity is sure to be a welcome surprise. While the Nancy Drew references at first seem a bit gratuitous - an attempt to market the book to young Nancy Drew fans or nostalgic adults - by the end of the story, the presence of the famous teenage detective makes more sense.

BUZZ KILL may not be the deepest read, but it's an extremely entertaining one that is much better than it has any right to be. A good choice for any reader or age group, it is perfect for younger reluctant readers or adults looking for a cheerful nostalgic trip; the short, cliff-hanger chapters make it a perfect fit for those reluctant readers, and make it impossible for more experienced readers of any age to put down.

§ Ben Neal is a librarian who likes to fancy himself an amateur writer, humorist, detective, and coffee connoisseur in his spare time. He can be reached at beneneal@indiana.edu.

Reviewed by Ben Neal, March 2015

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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