Time Bomb, written by Joelle Charbonneau, reviewed by Bethany Bratney

Summary: Six kids with little in common all visit their high school during the last week of summer break with big plans. Frankie, captain of the varsity football team and popular man-on-campus, has a big surprise for the JV football team. Diana, daughter of a prominent congressman, is ready to change her perfect daughter image. Tad, who has just come out to his family & friends, is ready to confront the boy he shared some tender moments with over the summer. Rashid, a devout Muslim, needs to make a dramatic change in order for people to see his true self. Cas, a recent transfer with a challenging social history, wonders if there is anything that she can do to make people notice her. Z, whose mother has just passed after a battle with cancer, has nothing left to lose and is ready to confront the people who have been judging his frequent skipping and absences. Each student expects their morning at the school to change their life significantly, but none of them anticipate the bombs that will begin exploding throughout the school, trapping them together in a life-threatening situation. They will have to work together to stay alive and to have any hope of escape or rescue. But when the police announce that the suspected bomber is one of the students trapped in the school, the group has an entirely new challenge on their hands.

Straight Talk for Librarians: This is high-interest, high excitement suspense for which kids will clamor. Each of the six main characters shares chapters of the story in their own voice, expressing their inner thoughts and concerns, and gaining the reader’s sympathy and understanding. Their individual backgrounds and struggles will keep readers guessing about which student was involved in the bombing and why. The bomb inside a school issue is a legitimate potential trigger for some students, so this would best be offered as a choice for individual reading. The issues that each student is struggling with include some hot topics as well, including descrimination based on race, religion or sexual orientation, mental health concerns, death of a loved one, bullying, and the pressure to be perfect. Outside of these big societal issues, the plot of the book is appropriate for both middle and high school. Fans of Charbonneau’s other works (The Testing series is extremely popular in my library) might gravitate to this book. It would also be a perfect read-alike for kids who enjoyed One of Us is Lying, as both books offer high suspense plots involving multiple narrators who are all suspects in a crime. This one is guaranteed to fly off your shelves!