By: Jennifer Wolf Kam

Devin Rhodes is dead. It’s my fault.

High school freshman Cass has questions. How did her best friend Devins body end up at the bottom of Woodacre Ravine? Was Cass really responsible? Isit just the untold truth haunting Cassor is it Devin’s ghost?

The thing is, Devin and Cass’s best-friendship wasn’t doing so great. And Cass hasn’t told anyonenot the police, not even Devin’s motherthe truthas she knows it.

Told in alternating before-and-after chapters, Cass details the mysterious eventssurroundingDevins wrongful death” in a hunt for her own answers. Fraught with turbulent teen changes, this gripping mystery is perfect for fans of Riverdale, My Favorite Murder, andGone Girl.

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Author & Illustrator

Jennifer Wolf Kam, author

Jennifer Wolf Kam began writing stories as soon as she could hold a crayon. Today she holds an MFA in writing for children and young adults from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. Devin Rhodes Is Dead is her first novel and the winner of the National Association of Elementary School Principals National Childrens Book of the Year Award. Jennifer lives in a suburb of New York City.

Read more about Jennifer.

Awards & Honors

• Winner of the NAESP Chapter Book Competition
• Nominee, VOYAs Top Shelf: Fiction for Middle School Readers 2015

Editorial Reviews

Kirkus Reviews

Convinced she is responsible for her best friend’s death, Cass feels haunted by Devin’s ghost even as she tries to hide her guilt.

Cass gradually reveals the actual events in chapters that alternate between “after” and “before.” Devin is not the most likable of creatures though infinitely prettier than her more “ample” friend and completely boy-obsessed. Fifteen-year-old Cass recalls various humiliations at Devin’s hands as well as her increasing isolation from other friends as the result of Devin’s machinations. As the truth of the killing finally emerges, first-time novelist Kam keeps atmosphere, suspense and characters realistically entwined. The language has a somewhat old-fashioned flavor, and although readers are soon likely to suspect that Cass is a rather unreliable narrator, Cass’ supernatural experience and revelation of events unfold smoothly. The well-developed cast of characters provides the needed red herrings in classic mystery fashion. Ideal for middle school readers who are on the cusp of discovering their romantic selves, Devin’s reckless sexualized encounters with the opposite sex contrast well with Cass’ careful exploration of her own interest in a boy who actually sees her and finds her attractive. The charm necklaces the two girls purchase to epitomize their best friend status thread symbolically through the narrative, keeping the focus on their relationship.

A surprisingly deft mystery for early teens.

Downloadables

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Details

Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1-934133-59-0

E-book EPUB
ISBN: 978-1-60734-752-1

Ages: 12 and up
Page count: 240
5 12 x 8 14

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