Searching for Yesterday- Valerie Sherrard
This is the third Shelby Belgarden mystery that I have read and I believe they are a refreshing addition to the mystery genre. So many of our teen books these days are dealing with harsh issues facing youth and are full of teenage angst. While I understand that there is a place for these stories as well, sometimes it’s just nice to sit down and read some lighter fare that does not demand as much of the reader emotionally. Shelby, the heroine of these stories, seems to fall into situations that require her detecting skills. In this novel, she very kindly befriends a girl in her class named Annie who lives in a foster home and has been ostensibly abandoned by her mother as a three year old. As Shelby and Annie begin to attempt to trace her mother’s whereabouts, it becomes increasingly evident that it was totally out of character for her mother to leave and not return as promised. This ramps up the intensity as they then begin to suspect that her mother has met with misfortune, or even foul play. Although the plot is somewhat predictable, I believe this type of novel, although with characters of high school age, will also meet the reading needs of some of some of our less demanding readers. As well, do not forget to check out Speechless, which has been nominated for the year’s Snow Willow awards, as well as Sam’s Light, which was nominated several years back. I realize that there are other titles that I have yet to read, but I do believe these will be suitable for both elementary and high school. They may also be a nice fit for the Grade 7 Language Arts mystery unit.
High School, Mystery, YA | Comments (2)2 Responses to “Searching for Yesterday- Valerie Sherrard”
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Hi Jane,
Added you to my feedreader. Thanks for the link.
Hi Jane,
I’m going to try a few of these. I like Sherrard as a writer and didn’t know she wrote mysteries. It’s one of my many favorite genres. The best mystery I read recently was “Eye of the Crow” by Shane Peacock. It is one I would recommend.