Nearly Gone by Elle Cosimano (review)

Nearly just wants to get through high school, score a scholarship, and get the heck out of Sunny View trailer park; instead she’s presented with a mystery in the personal ads, the teens she tutors suddenly dying one by one, and a hunky, dangerous boy distracting her from her goals. Drawing on her ability to read the thoughts of anyone she touches, Nearly seeks to solve the mystery and stop the criminal. The premise is interesting and the book moves quickly, making this an undemanding time-passer for summer or travel reading. However, the mystery is poorly developed, and most readers will be baffled for so long that the revelation is ultimately unsatisfactory (given the significant body count by then). Nearly, for all her ostensible brilliance, isn’t much of a sleuth, and even after she figures out the culprit, she is so slow to act that she almost adds two more deaths to the list. Hathaway’s Slide (BCCB 5/12) is a more effective blend of mystery and magic, but readers may still find themselves rooting fervently for Nearly to not only survive but also actually thrive even with the poor hand she has been dealt.