Hope Road

Sticks and Stones by Susan Meissner **

Again, as in the first book in this series, Meissner has made a good, fairly unique choice of subject matter . This book focuses on a mystery involving bullying and the horrible impact it makes on children’s lives. However, I found it almost a chore to get through the book. There was too much dialogue and too little action. Not many authors can get away with that, and I don’t think this writing is successful enough to carry the constant dialogue well.

Also, the plotline is confusing at times. The twists and turns aren’t so much suspensful as they are tiresome. It’s as if they exist only to take up space between the mystery and its solving. Meissner’s climax was once again poignant, although not quite so much as the first book’s. Overall, the first book in this series was better. I look forward to seeing how the third one in the trilogy compares.

Recommended age level: 14+. There’s suspense and there’s violence, but nothing too graphic.