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Confessions: The Private School Murders
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A lot or a little?
The parents' guide to what's in this book.
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that Confessions: The Private School Murders continues the story of teen Tandoori (Tandy) Angel, who, in Confessions of a Murder Suspect, had to prove she didn't kill her rich, famous, and abusive parents. There are several murders and numerous violent attacks as well as detailed accounts of Tandy's kidnapping, drugging, and captivity in a mental institution; cobras and other deadly reptiles terrify residents of the Dakota apartment building. There's moderate drinking by teens and adults, passionate kissing and references to sex between teen characters, and flashbacks to the behavior of abusive parents. Amid all the mystery and danger, strong family values are emphasized as the kids try to stay together and look out for one another.
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Good!
Very Good Murder Mystery
What's the story?
The lurid events of Confessions of a Murder Suspect still loom large in CONFESSIONS: THE PRIVATE SCHOOL MURDERS. Narrator and fledgling detective Tandy Angel is now trying to prove that her eldest brother, Matthew, didn't kill his pregnant, unfaithful girlfriend; meanwhile, one of her classmates becomes the latest victim of a serial killer preying on the private school girls of New York. Tandy and her younger brothers are about to lose their home in the Dakota apartment building as the family business empire collapses, and, as the drugs she's been dosed with all her life wear off, she remembers more and more about the boy from whom her parents tore her. A new guardian changes the kids' lives, and poisonous reptiles start appearing all over their luxurious apartment building.
Is it any good?
Not unlike the first volume in the series, this one is a cornucopia of wildly imagined plot developments that are well over the top before the first cobra crops up in the Angel apartment. Pages turn and eyes roll as this everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach (detective story! Teen romance! International intrigue! Courtroom drama! Mental hospitals! Corporate villains! And of, course, the snakes...) delivers an improbable but intriguing tale of love, family, and courage pitted against evil forces.
Talk to your kids about ...
Families can talk about why stories about kids, teens, and even animals who solve crimes are so popular. Do you have any favorites?
How do the Angel kids rise above the dysfunctional home life they had with their parents in looking out for one another now? How do they start to see a different side of family life?
Why do you think James and Tandy's parents were so determined to keep them apart? What do you think will happen in the next book in the Confessions series?
Book details
- Authors: James Patterson, Maxine Paetro
- Genre: Mystery
- Topics: Adventures, Brothers and Sisters, Friendship, High School, Misfits and Underdogs
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
- Publication date: October 7, 2013
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 12 - 18
- Number of pages: 448
- Available on: Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
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