Double
In a case of mistaken identity, homeless 16-year-old Chap is thought to be a missing boy who is his exact double. When he is welcomed into the boy’s home, Chap decides to play along with the misunderstanding because it offers him what he has always wanted: a family. But how long can he safely maintain his ruse, since this particular family comes freighted down with a full complement of dark secrets, some of which may prove to be deadly? Will Chap be able to stay out of harm’s way or will he, too, go missing? Valentine’s latest novel, long-listed for Britain’s prestigious Carnegie Medal, is a fast-paced and suspenseful mystery that is also an examination of one teen’s urgent struggle to discover his identity. Though not without its implausibilities and weighted down by a lengthy stretch of exposition near the end, the story remains a page-turning read that will attract teen mystery buffs. Grades 8-12. --Michael Cart